Tim Cook Says Apple Is ‘open To’ Ai Acquisitions

Apple CEO Tim Cook says nan institution is “open” to mergers and acquisitions arsenic it “significantly” increases its finance successful AI, as reported by CNBC. Cook’s statements were made alongside nan merchandise of Apple’s third-quarter net results, which revealed that nan iPhone-maker raked successful $94 cardinal betwixt April and June, marking a 10 percent summation complete nan aforesaid play past year.

The remarks travel arsenic Apple continues to beryllium seen arsenic down nan AI race, pinch its efforts connected Apple Intelligence lagging comparative to its peers and Meta poaching immoderate of its apical engineers. The institution is progressively turning to AI startups for thief — and reports person suggested that Apple is moreover unfastened to making large acquisitions to drawback up.

Last month, a study from Bloomberg said that Apple may enlist nan thief of AI giants, for illustration OpenAI and Anthropic, to powerfulness its “LLM Siri.” Bloomberg also reported successful June that Apple leaders discussed acquiring nan AI hunt startup Perplexity. The discussions travel aft Apple swapped successful Vision Pro caput Mike Rockwell arsenic nan leader of AI and Siri successful March.

When speaking astir AI, Cook said nan institution is “embedding it crossed our devices, crossed our platforms and crossed nan company,” according to CNBC. Though Apple has touted large plans for an AI-enhanced type of Siri, nan timing of its merchandise remains uncertain aft nan institution delayed nan revamp. Apple’s SVP of software, Craig Federighi, said it conscionable wasn’t “reliable” enough to merchandise broadly.

Despite nan AI hiccups, Apple’s halfway businesses stay strong. Apple’s iPhone business grew 13 percent twelvemonth complete twelvemonth to $44.6 billion. Mac gross besides saw a boost, reaching $8.1 cardinal successful revenue, apt owed to Apple releasing a caller MacBook Air successful March. Revenue from Apple’s services, which see subscriptions to things for illustration Apple TV Plus, iCloud, and Apple Music, saw a 13 percent summation to $27.4 billion, which Apple says is an “all-time high.”

There whitethorn beryllium different challenges coming for those businesses, though. In May, Apple said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could costs nan company astatine slightest $900 million during nan June quarter. There’s a chance these costs could spell moreover higher, arsenic Trump has threatened Apple pinch a tariff of “at least” 25 percent if nan institution doesn’t bring accumulation to nan US. Apple has already shifted immoderate of its accumulation to India to alteration its reliance connected China, a move Trump isn’t a instrumentality of.

Apple is expected to motorboat its caller iPhone 17 lineup sometime successful September. iOS 26 should beryllium released astir nan aforesaid time, delivering nan “Liquid Glass” creation connection that has immoderate users divided.