Tim Cook says Apple is ‘open to’ AI acquisitions

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company is “open” to mergers and acquisitions as it “significantly” increases its investment in AI, as reported by CNBC. Cook’s statements were made alongside the release of Apple’s third-quarter earnings results, which revealed that the iPhone-maker raked in $94 billion between April and June, marking a 10 percent increase over the same period last year.

The remarks come as Apple continues to be seen as behind the AI race, with its efforts on Apple Intelligence lagging relative to its peers and Meta poaching some of its top engineers. The company is increasingly turning to AI startups for help — and reports have suggested that Apple is even open to making big acquisitions to catch up.

When speaking about AI, Cook said the company is “embedding it across our devices, across our platforms and across the company,” according to CNBC. Though Apple has touted big plans for an AI-enhanced version of Siri, the timing of its release remains uncertain after the company delayed the revamp. Apple’s SVP of software, Craig Federighi, said it just wasn’t “reliable” enough to release broadly.

”We’re making good progress on a more personalized Siri,” Cook said during an earnings call on Thursday. “We are also reallocating a fair number of people to focus on AI features within the company.”

Despite the AI hiccups, Apple’s core businesses remain strong. Apple’s iPhone business grew 13 percent year over year to $44.6 billion. Mac revenue also saw a boost, reaching $8.1 billion in revenue, likely due to Apple releasing a new MacBook Air in March. Revenue from Apple’s services, which include subscriptions to things like Apple TV Plus, iCloud, and Apple Music, saw a 13 percent increase to $27.4 billion, which Apple says is an “all-time high.”

There may be other challenges coming for those businesses, though. In May, Apple said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could cost the company at least $900 million during the June quarter. There’s a chance these costs could go even higher, as Trump has threatened Apple with a tariff of “at least” 25 percent if the company doesn’t bring production to the US. Apple has already shifted some of its production to India to decrease its reliance on China, a move Trump isn’t a fan of.

Apple is expected to launch its new iPhone 17 lineup sometime in September. iOS 26 should be released around the same time, delivering the “Liquid Glass” design language that has some users divided.