Apple Considers Acquisitions to Boost AI Roadmap

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Apple’s AI Ambitions

Apple leadership discussed its AI endeavors during its third-quarter conference call, with CEO Tim Cook stating that the company is “significantly growing out investments” in artificial intelligence. Cook acknowledged that an acquisition to boost its work in AI wasn’t out of the question, saying “We’re open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap”.

Cook noted that Apple is “not stuck on a certain size company” as a possible target for an AI-related purchase. The company has acquired “about” seven businesses so far this year across multiple disciplines, but none were “huge in terms of dollar amount”.

The company has been quiet on its promised plans to overhaul the Siri voice assistant with more AI features. According to Reuters, Cook stated that the team is “making good progress on a personalized Siri”, but the latest projections are that the AI-powered update to that service might not be ready until spring 2026.

Apple did announce a few Apple Intelligence iterations at WWDC, but the general consensus is that the company’s AI efforts have been flagging behind other big tech businesses. This has led to speculation that it may look externally to improve its standing in the race to build the best AI features. Some execs within Apple have allegedly been eyeing up Perplexity as a potential acquisition.