Rather than signing a nine or ten figures check for an established actor, Apple’s method has so far consisted of a series of surgical acquisitions. In 2023, the firm bought 32 startups specializing in AI. The example of Darwinai, a young Canadian shoot, illustrates this approach well: its technology allows you to create smaller and faster AI models, ideal for execution on a mobile device.
These discreet maneuvers, such as the two new recent acquisitions in the field, aim to integrate specific technological bricks rather than absorbing a foreign corporate culture and economic model. This is why insistent rumors on a possible acquisition of the French nugget Mistral AI, valued at several billion euros, arouse as many questions. Such an operation would represent the type of “poker blow” which worries analysts.
Apple’s approach on complex markets like China also shows its preference for tailor -made partnerships. To comply with local regulations, the company does not hesitate to use Chinese open source models provided by partners like Alibaba and Baidu, rather than imposing a unique global solution.