Tim Cook’s main Apple acquisitions mix hardware, software and services

Tim Cook’s Apple may have given up on buying Tesla, but the company certainly has an interesting list of small companies it bought during the outgoing CEO’s tenure.

Let’s take a stroll down M&A history and revisit some of the major company acquisitions from when Tim Cook was at the top.

Apple acquired a wide range of companies for a mix of product features under Tim Cook

When John Ternus takes over as CEO of Apple on September 1, it will take him years to catch up to Cook’s record in mergers and acquisitions.

Many of Apple’s best acquisitions today power existing hardware and software features and services.

In July 2012, Apple bought the American company AuthenTec before shipping the iPhone 5s with Touch ID in September 2013.

The following year, Apple acquired the Israeli startup PrimeSense who is credited with the development of Face ID technology which arrived with the iPhone X in 2017.

Cook’s boldest acquisition came on August 1, 2014, when Apple bought Electronic Beats. Apple continues to develop and sell new Beats-branded headphones and speakers, and Beats Music is the foundation of Apple Music.

In March 2017, Apple purchased Workflowthe automation and scripting app for iPhone and iPad. The team then delivered Shortcuts, which also integrate with the Mac and Apple Home.

Also in 2017, Apple acquired Beda company that offered a sleep tracking product that worked with the iPhone. Sleep tracking is now part of the Apple Watch.

In 2018, Apple bought the subscription magazine service Texturewhich later morphed into Apple News+. The same year, Apple acquired Shazamthe song tagging service that continued to exist.

Cook’s Apple acquired Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion in July 2019 before shipping Apple’s first cellular modem, the C1, inside the iPhone 16e last year.

Now, several iPhone and iPad models come with the C1 or C1X modem, and even more iPhones are expected to ditch Qualcomm chips this fall.

Apple bought Dark sky in March 2020, today powering precipitation alerts in Apple Weather and WeatherKit.

A few weeks later, the company acquired NextVRa company focused on virtual reality events, including live sports. This year, Apple Vision Pro included select LA Lakers NBA games in an immersive format for Apple Vision Pro.

In August 2021, Apple purchased Primephonicthe classical music streaming service that eventually became Apple Music Classical in 2023.

At the end of 2024, we saw Apple buy Pixelmateurwhich is part of Apple Creator Studio in 2026.

Last year, Tim Cook’s Apple bought CAR7the two-person game studio behind Apple Arcade’s Sneaky Sasquatch. Still in the field of content, Apple bought the rights to Apple TV Breakup.

Apple’s most recent acquisitions under Cook include Q.aia purchase that will likely improve Siri and Apple Intelligence, and MovementVFXwhich creates content for Final Cut Pro, now part of Apple Creator Studio.

Take from 9to5Mac

These are just 16 of the most interesting mergers and acquisitions Apple has made under Tim Cook as CEO.

To me, Beats Electronics will always be Tim Cook’s iconic acquisition for Apple.

The $3 billion price tag, the onboarding of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, and the shipping of Apple Music early in Cook’s tenure as CEO were highlights.

I’m very curious about what Q.ai will do for Apple in the future, and its $2 billion price tag is not insignificant.

Which Apple M&A deals under Tim Cook are your best picks? What companies should John Ternus include on his shopping list when he succeeds Cook on September 1? Let us know in the comments.