Apple Ready to Spend Big to Catch Up in AI, Says CEO Tim Cook
Apple Inc. is signalling a strategic shift in its approach to artificial intelligence (AI), with CEO Tim Cook confirming the company is ready to open its wallet to build or buy the technology it needs to stay competitive. Speaking during Apple’s fiscal Q3 2025 earnings call, Cook acknowledged that the company may need to make larger acquisitions and invest more heavily in data centre infrastructure to close the gap with AI rivals like Microsoft and Google.
Apple’s AI Strategy: A Change in Direction
While Apple has historically taken a conservative, fiscally disciplined approach to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Cook’s comments mark a notable shift. In 2024 and early 2025, Apple quietly acquired seven small AI companies, but now the company is signalling it could consider larger, strategic acquisitions to accelerate its AI roadmap.
“We are not stuck on a certain size company… if they help us accelerate our roadmap, we’re interested,” Cook said.
Lagging in AI
Apple’s rivals have already made massive financial commitments:
- Microsoft is projected to spend over $100 billion this year on AI-related infrastructure.
- Google has announced plans to invest $85 billion, mostly in cloud and data centre expansion.
In contrast, Apple has relied on external data centres and focused on in-house development of AI features such as Siri and on-device intelligence. The company’s partnership with OpenAI brings ChatGPT features to iPhones, but improvements to Siri have been delayed until 2026, reflecting internal development challenges.
Potential Risks and the Antitrust Shadow
Apple also faces potential financial risks:
- It receives tens of billions annually from Google, which pays to remain the default search engine on Apple devices.
- However, that deal is now under scrutiny in a U.S. antitrust trial, and its termination could reshape Apple’s search and AI strategy.
- Meanwhile, AI-native startups like Perplexity AI are emerging as competitors, aiming to replace traditional browsers with AI-driven search alternatives.
M&A Outlook: Bigger Deals on the Table?
Apple’s biggest acquisition to date remains its $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics in 2014. But Cook now hints that Apple may pursue larger M&A deals if the right opportunity arises, especially if it aligns with Apple’s broader AI and cloud goals.
This would be a significant departure from its traditional strategy of acquiring smaller, specialised teams to develop targeted products internally.
Key Takeaways:
- Apple is ready to spend more aggressively on AI infrastructure and acquisitions.
- CEO Tim Cook confirms openness to larger M&A deals for AI acceleration.
- Apple trails Microsoft and Google in AI spending, with Siri upgrades delayed.
- Looming antitrust threats to Apple-Google deals may reshape AI strategy.
- Startups like Perplexity AI are challenging the dominance of Google in mobile search.
