Over the years, Apple has been subtly acquiring businesses focused on artificial intelligence in order to improve its AI capabilities across all of its products and services. According to estimates from Stocklytics, which derived their data from a Statista study, Apple bought up to 32 AI firms last year, demonstrating the sustained strength of this strategy in 2023.
With regard to AI startup acquisitions, this number places Apple much ahead of other significant IT behemoths. According to the research, in 2023, Microsoft acquired 17 AI firms, Facebook’s owner Meta bought 18, and Google acquired 21.
“In the ongoing AI arms race, Apple is making sizeable deals with many AI startups, putting it in a good spot for future tech developments even as its competitors, Microsoft and Google, make considerable investments in already established AI companies,” Stocklytics financial analyst Edith Reads said in response to Apple’s acquisition strategy.
“Apple gains access to top-tier talent and innovative technologies and consolidates its foothold in crucial AI domains, ensuring a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving tech landscape,” the speaker continued, citing the acquisition of potential AI firms.
Regarding how it intends to use the AI technology and know-how acquired through its acquisition strategy, Apple has been relatively silent thus far. Nonetheless, the strategy reveals a multifaceted effort to enhance Apple’s AI capabilities through the expansion of intellectual property, technological integration, and personnel acquisition.
Over the past few years, Apple has acquired a number of noteworthy AI startups, including Voysis, WaveOne, Emotient, Laserlike, and others. Acquired in 2020, Voysis specialized on natural language-understanding voice assistants. It’s possible that this technique advanced Apple’s Siri virtual assistant.
Apple may incorporate WaveOne’s video compression technology, which was acquired in March 2023, into its devices, including Apple Watches and iPhones. Additional purchases were made in the areas of music AI, app recommendations, and facial recognition.
Apple’s strategy is intriguing in part because it prioritizes early-stage entrepreneurs. According to the report, this implies that the corporation wants to stay ahead of its competitors in seeing and funding developing AI developments. How precisely Apple incorporates these upstart technology into its consumer goods is yet unknown.
In recent years, rivals like Google and Samsung have quickly increased their own AI capabilities. Smartphones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra now contain extremely sophisticated AI functions. But over the last six years, Apple has acquired a disproportionate number of AI startups, suggesting that it has big intentions for its upcoming products and services.
Due to Apple’s opaque business practices, precise numbers are difficult to verify; however, analysts calculate that the company has been acquiring startups at a breakneck rate of two to three per week in recent years.
Apple seldom discusses the rationale behind particular acquisitions. However, Apple’s unwavering pursuit of bright young AI firms shows that it intends to take the lead in the coming years in the AI race — even as rivals like Microsoft and Google acquire more established AI businesses and technologies.
