Apple Inc is deploying more funds for acquisition deals, Bloomberg reported. Citing a regulatory filing yesterday, the report said that the iPhone manufacturer forked out $525 million on deals last quarter. This was nearly double what it spent the year before.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook used its cash pile to acquire firms that make products that can be merged into gadgets or services that the tech giant will make in the future. The purchases which were small by nature included such deals as motion-tracking chip technology maker PrimeSense Ltd, data analytics company Topsy Labs Inc, search engine Cue and Broadmap, a mapping software firm, the report said.
Wells Fargo & Co Analyst Maynard Um underscored Apple's acquisition spending in a research note. Um said that the company has been very intent in seeking firms that will allow it to enhance the mapping service it rolled out in 2012 to rival search giant Google Inc, Bloomberg reported.
The company usually purchases startups that are not as well-known and then closes them down. It then merges that startup's technology to its future products. In 2010, Apple acquired a firm that ultimately led to the unveiling of Siri, a voice recognition feature. In that year, the company also acquired another firm that paved the way for its iAd mobile advertising service, the report said.
A December 30, 2013 article which appeared on the website Cult of Mac quoted said that 2013 was the biggest year for Apple as far as acquisitions were concerned. Last year, the company acquired 15 smaller firms.
That report also quoted what Tim Cook said at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference held in February 2013. Cook said, "The kind of companies that we've purchased have been companies that either have really smart people and or IP [intellectual property]. Generally speaking, in many cases, we've taken something that they're working on and moved the skills to work on something else."
Join the Conversation