It is “very open” to acquisitions in AI. These are our candidates

Tim Cook admitted yesterday, in The call with investors After the presentation of quarterly results, which Apple is “very open” to acquisitions that accelerate its road map in AI.

A historical confession for a company that has never spent more than 3,000 million on a purchase.

Why is it important. Apple has been delayed for two years with respect to its rivals in AI. With the new postponed Siri and the pressure of competitors and investors, Cook needs movements. His Budget of 500,000 million for investments in the United States He gives margin for a great operation.

The context. During the call, Cook explained that Apple has already bought “around seven companies” this year, although he acknowledged that they are “small by nature.”

The CEO also confirmed that they are “reallocating a considerable number of people” to focus on AI functions and that they will “significantly increase” investments.

The main candidates

📍 Perplexity (Estimated assessment: 18,000 million dollars)

• In favor: Bloomberg He already reported a few weeks conversations between both parties. His approach – squeezed with AI – would fit perfectly with Apple’s problems The possible end of Google payments By safari.
• Against: Your model is based on using LLMS of third parties (OpenAi, Anthropic and Company), does not develop its own fundamental technology. And Apple usually prefer to control the entire chain.

📍 Anthropic (Estimated assessment: 170,000 million dollars)

• In favor: Philosophically is aligned with Apple in the AI approach, prioritizing security and privacy. Claude It is considered the most “safe” model in the market, especially among the big ones.
• Against: The connections that with Amazon (Invested 8,000 million in it) and regulatory risks make it especially complicated. In addition, it is too expensive (its assessment is this week) even for Apple. Anthropic would cost 56 times more than the biggest purchase made by Apple: Beats.

📍 Mistral (Estimated assessment: 6,000 million dollars)

• In favor: European company with less regulatory complications. Develop your own modelsit already has products in the market without the need to go to others and has experience in AI Edge (local), key to Apple’s strategy and vision.
• Against: Less technological maturity than OpenAI or Anthropic. In addition, its ecosystem is mainly European, somewhat distant land geographically and sidererily distant in regulatory ideology for Apple.

Between the lines. Tm cook did not want to answer what parts of the AI chain could end Commoditized. He said “that would reveal part of our strategy.”

A clear track is that Apple plans to control differentiating elements so as not to have to depend on external APIS.

Other possible candidates

Although with very remote options.

📍 Hugging Face (Estimated assessment: millions)

• In favor: The ‘Github of the AI’ with the largest community of developers. Control the distribution of models and tools that Apple needs for its ecosystem.
• Against: Business model still immature and too focused on open source for Apple’s taste.

📍 COPE (Estimated assessment: 5,500 million)

• In favor: Specialized in business and models optimized for efficiency, some perfect fit in mobile devices and local computing. It also has fewer links with technological giants.
• Against: Lower brand recognition than its competitors and a main focus on B2B, unlike an Apple almost completely delivered to the consumer market.

📍 Runway (Estimated assessment: 1.5 billion)

• In favor: Lead the AI generative video, perfect for Apple’s obsession with visual content. And would revitalize the suite Apple creative, starting for final cut.
• Against: Very specific niche. It does not solve the fundamental problem of Siri and conversational assistants.

The discards

Yes, but. Apple’s history invites prudence. Eleven years ago since its greatest purchase, Beatsand “only” was for 3,000 million. Minutiae compared to what almost any investment requires today.

That said, the current pressure is unpublished. It is the only company of the “seven magnificent” technological in red numbers this year: -15% in the stock market.

The threat. The danger to Apple is not in acquisitions, but in time. Run against him. Openai will present soon GPT-5Meta has thrown the house through the window to capture the best talent, Google continues to integrate an increasingly powerful gemini in its entire ecosystem.

Each quarter that happens with a dysfunctional Siri and without a really decisive Apple Intelligence is lost terrain.

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