Apple 'Open' to Acquisition That Accelerates AI Roadmap - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple 'Open' to Acquisition That Accelerates AI Roadmap

Apple is "open" to an acquisition that would accelerate its AI roadmap, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC today. Cook said that Apple sees AI as one of the "most profound technologies of our lifetime," and that the company is "significantly growing" its AI investments.

perplexity ai mac
"We're embedding it across our devices, across our platforms and across the company," Cook said. Apple has already purchased seven companies in 2025. "We're open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap," Cook added.

Apple has been losing key members of its AI team to Meta in recent weeks, and the company is already far behind competitors in AI development.

There have been rumors that Apple is considering working with Anthropic or OpenAI to develop an LLM version of Siri rather than using its own AI technology, but Apple hasn't moved forward with a partnership as of yet.

Many of the high profile AI companies would not be feasible for Apple to purchase, but the company has considered purchasing Perplexity AI. Perplexity is valued at $18 billion, so if Apple did acquire the company, it would mark Apple's largest acquisition to date.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Cash Feature Blue

Apple Reports 4Q 2026 Results: $30.7B Profit on $114.5B Revenue

Monday November 2, 2026 1:38 pm PST by
Apple today announced financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2026, which corresponds to the third calendar quarter of the year. The quarter included a number of August and September product releases from Apple, as well as the CEO transition from Tim Cook to John Ternus that took place on September 1. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $114.5 billion and net quarterly profit ...
Apple Logo Cash Feature Blue

Apple's Q4 2026 Earnings Call Takeaways

Monday November 2, 2026 4:26 pm PST by
Apple held its earnings call for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2026 today, and it was Apple CEO John Ternus' first earnings call in his new role. He had Apple CFO Kevan Parekh on hand, and he brought in Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan. The trio covered iPhone Duo sales, Siri AI, and increasing memory costs, among other topics. iPhone Duo After the earnings release, Ternus told Reuters...
John Ternus and Rainbow Countour Apple Logo

John Ternus Hosting His First Earnings Call as Apple CEO Today

Monday November 2, 2026 9:33 am PST by
John Ternus will participate in his first Apple earnings call as the company's CEO today. The call begins at 2 p.m. Pacific Time / 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Ternus and Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh will discuss the company's earnings results for the third quarter of the 2026 calendar year on the live-streamed conference call. While the call is primarily intended for Apple shareholders and Wall Street...

Top Rated Comments

sniffies Avatar
17 months ago
Before acquiring anything, how about teaching iCloud Mail how to auto-sync notification badges between iOS and macOS?

Or does that require quantum computing?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
17 months ago
There's no rush. Record sales prove customers aren't buying the AI hype train. The media and finance guys tell lies about AI popularity just to bump up their stocks. Go walk about the street and ask regular people about AI and they look at you like you are weird.

Get it right instead of shoehorning it in quickly.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Flojomojo Avatar
17 months ago
I'm no expert and I haven't tried them all, but Perplexity has been more useful to me than Copilot or ChatGPT because it tries to prioritize accuracy, and it always shows its work. Like the others, it sometimes makes mistakes, but it doesn't lie confidently or hallucinate in my experience. I've paid for the $20/month plan and have been using it more than Google searches lately.

It could be a good fit for the Apple ecosystem if they don't screw it up.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
17 months ago

They're approaching 14 years with Siri. How much more time do they need?

Apple could purchase Perplexity with last quarter's profit, and have a few billion in change left over. If Cook truly sees AI as one of the "most profound technologies of our lifetime", why isn't his company leading it?
It’s because all LLMs are made and continuously trained on scraped data from every known source. None of the AI companies, not OpenAI, not Anthropic, not Meta, not Google, not DeepSeek, not Musk-Grok, etc give a rip for privacy or safety. The very reason all these LLMs exist is totally antithetical to at least what Apple has been preaching and engineering for decades. It is impossible to make a LLM that is competent with ethical, private and safe means. To do so is to limit the LLMs evolution and potential competency. And even then every LLM out there is eventually an unsafe, gaslighting, hallucinating fabulist when it gets beyond a certain amount of tokens. Apple’s dilemma vis a vis AI is not that they can’t competently engineer an LLM in-house or even outright buy Perplexity or even Anthropic. It’s that by doing either Apple instantly stops being Apple. It can no longer claim to be the paragon of safe, private and ethical computing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GrassShark Avatar
17 months ago
Doesn't Perplexity rely on models from other companies? Even setting aside their terrible reputation as a company, how would buying them even be helpful to Apple?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
17 months ago

Get it right instead of shoehorning it in quickly.
They're approaching 14 years with Siri. How much more time do they need?

Apple could purchase Perplexity with last quarter's profit, and have a few billion in change left over. If Cook truly sees AI as one of the "most profound technologies of our lifetime", why isn't his company leading it?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Early Apple Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and More
Early Apple Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and More
19 hours ago
'Backglow' Lets You Customize New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
'Backglow' Lets You Customize New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
19 hours ago
Top Stories: Apple Product Launches, iOS 27.3 Beta, and More
Top Stories: Apple Product Launches, iOS 27.3 Beta, and More
1 day ago
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
2 days ago
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
2 days ago
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
2 days ago
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
2 days ago
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
2 days ago
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
2 days ago
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
2 days ago
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
2 days ago
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
2 days ago
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
2 days ago
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
2 days ago
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
2 days ago
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
2 days ago
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
2 days ago
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
2 days ago
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
3 days ago
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
3 days ago
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
3 days ago
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
3 days ago
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
3 days ago
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
3 days ago
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
3 days ago
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
3 days ago
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
3 days ago
Instagram's Edits Video Editor is Now Available on Mac
Instagram's Edits Video Editor is Now Available on Mac
3 days ago
Prevent Siri and Search From Accessing Specific iPhone Apps
Prevent Siri and Search From Accessing Specific iPhone Apps
3 days ago
Best Early Black Friday Deals on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo
Best Early Black Friday Deals on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo
3 days ago