Tim Cook says Apple is ‘open to’ AI acquisitions

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

The remarks travel arsenic Apple continues to beryllium seen arsenic down the AI race, with 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 assistance — and reports person suggested that Apple is adjacent unfastened to making large acquisitions to drawback up.

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

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

“We’re making bully advancement connected a much personalized Siri,” Cook said during an net telephone connected Thursday. “We are besides reallocating a just fig of radical to absorption connected AI features wrong the company.”

Despite the AI hiccups, Apple’s halfway businesses stay strong. Apple’s iPhone concern grew 13 percent twelvemonth implicit 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 similar 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 outgo the company astatine slightest $900 million during the June quarter. There’s a accidental these costs could spell adjacent higher, arsenic Trump has threatened Apple with a tariff of “at least” 25 percent if the institution doesn’t bring accumulation to the US. Apple has already shifted immoderate of its accumulation to India to alteration its reliance connected China, a determination 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 the aforesaid time, delivering the “Liquid Glass” plan connection that has immoderate users divided.