In the midst of Apple’s AI challenges, some have called on the company to dip into its enormous bank account and make a splashy AI acquisition. Here’s why the lack of acquisition could signal something important about Apple’s current AI progress.
Apple is ‘open’ to AI acquisitions, but shows no sign of a big purchase
It’s been a big week for AI, with major new launches from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Meanwhile, discourse surrounding Apple’s AI efforts remains glum.
Last week, the company posted huge quarterly earnings—better than Wall Street hoped for. Nevertheless, investors seemed far more interested in Apple’s AI struggles.
CEO Tim Cook, for his part, sought to ease concerns by signaling increased AI investment and an openness to acquisitions.
“We are significantly growing our investments,” Cook said about AI. “We’re embedding it across our devices, across our platforms and across the company.” Cook said that Apple had acquired “around” seven companies so far this year although none had been “huge in terms of dollar amount.” “We’re open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap,” Cook said.
Despite Apple’s openness to acquisitions, there’s no sign that any blockbuster deal is in the works.
Could Apple be planning to buy a big AI company? Perhaps. But the lack of any such AI acquisition materializing could say a lot about the company’s confidence in internal progress.
Behind the scenes at Apple, AI progress may be better than it seems
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