Tim Cook signals Apple open to M&A on the AI front

Apple CEO Tim Cook signaled to investors that the company is still open to mergers and acquisitions to move things forward on the AI front.

Tim Cook’s remarks were made this week during the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call. The CEO offered a short update about Apple’s next-generation AI-powered Siri, quoting that the service was still on track to launch in 2026.

During his opening remarks, Cook said, “We’re making good progress on it, and as we’ve shared, we expect to release it next year.”

During the call, an analyst inquired whether Apple was still following its three-pronged strategy for developing personalized AI. This strategy involves a mix of in-house Apple foundation models, partnerships with third-party large language model (LLM) providers, and potential acquisitions.

Apple CEO responded that Apple remains open to the possibility of acquisitions, indicating that the company consistently monitors the market for mergers and acquisitions and is “open to pursuing M&A if we believe it will advance our roadmap.”

He noted during his pre-earnings interview with CNBC that Apple was preparing to announce more AI partnerships like the one it has with OpenAI to merge ChatGPT into Siri and Apple Intelligence.

Cook told the media outlet that Apple intends to integrate with more people over time.

During the earnings call, Cook discussed Apple’s approach to creating and deploying foundation models. He highlighted their use in devices and within Private Cloud Compute, Apple’s cloud intelligence system specifically designed for private AI processing.

Cook shared later in the call that Apple is already utilizing its Private Cloud Compute technology for several Siri queries and is continuing to build out that infrastructure.

Tim said, “In fact, the manufacturing plant that makes the servers used for Apple Intelligence just started manufacturing in Houston a few weeks ago, and we’ve got a ramp planned there for use in our data centers. And, you know, it’s robust.”

Cook also indicated that AI plays a role in consumers’ smartphone purchasing decisions. “I would say that Apple Intelligence is a factor, and we’re very bullish on it becoming a greater factor,” he added.