Apple’s cautious deal-making slows its attempt to catch up in AI

Apple, long known for its cautious approach to acquisitions, is facing challenges in its push to advance generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) capabilities, as its reluctance to pursue large-scale deals limits its ability to compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. According to a recent analysis by The Information, while rivals like Microsoft and Google have aggressively acquired AI startups and talent to bolster their offerings, Apple’s preference for smaller, low-profile deals has left it struggling to keep pace. This conservative strategy, rooted in the company’s desire to maintain tight control over its ecosystem, may hinder its ability to integrate cutting-edge AI technologies at a time when competitors are doubling down on transformative acquisitions.
Zac Hall for 9to5Mac:
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The Information reports that Apple is telling bankers that “it’s carrying on with its strategy of focusing on smaller deals in AI,” despite Tim Cook recently teasing out that Apple is “very open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap.”
Still, both Perplexity and French AI firm Mistral remain part of the conversation within Apple, especially as Apple’s Google Search deal is at the mercy of an upcoming court decision.
The Information cites a “person familiar with his thinking” in reporting that Eddy Cue is most vocal about these sorts of big AI acquisitions. The report claims that Cue previously championed two major M&A deals in the past, specifically Netflix and Tesla, but both were shot down by Tim Cook.
Another voice inside the company that is less sold on buying its way out of the AI problem is Craig Federighi. According to the report, Federighi is hesitant on any major AI deal because he believes his team can build their way out of Apple’s AI deficit.

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MacDailyNews Take: Tim Cook is responsible for Apple missing the GenAI revolution and for also not being able to quickly catch up. The Board is responsible for not doing what it should have done many years ago.
Apple should’ve replaced Tim Cook as CEO several years ago. You know, before the company completely missed GenAI while wasting time on EVs, foisting an AR/VR DevKit foisted onto a handful of consumers, and undertaking a whole host of other distractions.
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
Welcome to the third stage. Several years late, of course, hopefully not too late, but at least we’re here.
We’ve experienced all of the stages, having long been the canaries in the coal mine. – MacDailyNews, July 10, 2025

This lack of focus, lack of attention to detail, lack of striving for perfection will catch up to Apple eventually if it is not arrested and corrected in time. — MacDailyNews, November 29, 2017

Apple is not firing on all cylinders.
The quality has been slipping for years and the mistakes, bad designs, stupid decisions, product delays and worse have been piling up. – MacDailyNews, May 18, 2017

Steve Jobs is irreplaceable, but someone with vision, taste, and focus is what’s required here.
The magic of Steve Jobs was vision, focus on the products from the user’s point of view, fastidious attention to detail, and next-level marketing acumen. – MacDailyNews, January 29, 2018

Steve Jobs could make a power cord seem insanely great. Tim Cook could put a room to sleep while unveiling teleportation; he makes watching paint dry seem like must-see event.
Apple is currently helmed by a charisma black hole.
Lacking a charismatic leader who could sell ice cubes to eskimos, execution is the key. High quality products and services that just work with timely updates in sufficient supply at launch… Apple’s issues with late, old, sometimes problematic products and services do more to dampen excitement and devotion than anything. – MacDailyNews, January 4, 2019

Tim Cook is not the best person to be CEO of Apple.
Do I believe that Tim Cook is the absolute best person to be CEO of Apple?
No, I do not.
Someone more focused on the actual business at hand (delighting customers) and who has the ability to sell it onstage would be more successful. Likely wildly more successful. In the Apple CEOship as defined by Steve Jobs, Tim Cook is out of his element.
Will I shed a tear when Tim Cook finally exits Apple? Take a wild guess.
Let’s face it, Steve Jobs’ track record of picking Apple CEOs was less than stellar.
Hopefully, when the time comes, Sculley II isn’t up next. Yes, it could be worse. Cook fans can bask in whatever solace they can scrape up from the bottom of that sentiment, at least. – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, April 2, 2019

You know, some people get upset when we point out that Tim Cook is a boring, reactive caretaker who’s not really the best person to be running Apple today or for at least the past several years.
Operations manager Cook should have been a 3-5 year stopgap after Steve Jobs’ untimely passing, running the iteration playbook, providing continuity for the company while it found a real CEO. Instead, he hung on — and keeps hanging on — well past his sell-by date…
You can be upset with us for having the temerity to call it like we see it, but the fact remains that Apple would be doing significantly better today with a visionary who’d have seen AI on the horizon, who’d have recognized the intrinsic importance of Siri and therefore invested in it instead of criminally neglecting it, and who wouldn’t have squandered the company’s gigantic leads in things like personal assistants and podcasting. – MacDailyNews, August 22, 2024

Apple needed new blood years ago, but the old blood simply won’t let go. – MacDailyNews, January 22, 2025

For its NeXT CEO, Apple needs relative YOUTH, not another 50- or 60-something calcified company lifer who was part of the so-called team that blindly missed the GenAI paradigm shift.
Steve Jobs was 42 years old when he returned to Apple as interim CEO in September 1997. pic.twitter.com/Bk0kdul7QF
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) July 10, 2025

See also: Steve Jobs never meant for Tim Cook to still be Apple’s CEO in 2025 – MacDailyNews, July 9, 2025

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