Apple acquisition history

Apple agreed to buy Steve Jobs' NeXT Software in a friendly acquisition, folding all of NeXT's products, services and technology research into Apple. The deal returned Jobs to the company he co-founded in 1976. NeXT's object-oriented development tools and its NEXTSTEP operating system became the technical foundation Apple used to build Mac OS X. Terms were $400 million ($350 million cash plus roughly $50 million of assumed debt).

The acquisition of NeXT is the start of a new chapter in Apple's history and represents a milestone in our transformation as a corporation. Today Apple welcomed back its most talented visionary.Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio — Chairman and CEO, Apple Computer, Inc.

Apple entered a definitive merger agreement to acquire AuthenTec, a publicly traded (NASDAQ) developer of fingerprint-sensor and identity-management security technology, for $8.00 per share in cash. The joint materials described a 56.9% premium to AuthenTec's prior-day close and a targeted close in the third calendar quarter of 2012, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. AuthenTec declined to characterize Apple's intended use of the business.

Apple and AuthenTec have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Apple will acquire AuthenTec for $8.00 per share.AuthenTec investor Q&A (Exhibit 99.1 to AuthenTec Form 8-K — July 27, 2012)

Apple signed an agreement to acquire Texture, the digital-magazine subscription service operated by Next Issue Media, which gave subscribers unlimited access to more than 200 magazine titles for a single monthly fee. Texture had been backed by publishers Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith and Rogers Media together with KKR. Apple did not disclose financial terms. Texture's catalog was later folded into the Apple News+ subscription.

We're excited Texture will join Apple, along with an impressive catalog of magazines from many of the world's leading publishers. We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.Eddy Cue — Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Apple

I'm thrilled that Next Issue Media, and its award-winning Texture app, are being acquired by Apple.John Loughlin — CEO, Next Issue Media

Apple agreed to acquire the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business for $1 billion. About 2,200 Intel employees moved to Apple along with intellectual property, equipment and leases, expanding Apple's wireless patent portfolio to more than 17,000 wireless-technology patents. The transaction was expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2019. Intel retained the ability to develop modems for non-smartphone applications such as PCs, IoT devices and autonomous vehicles.

We've worked with Intel for many years and know this team shares Apple's passion for designing technologies that deliver the world's best experiences for our users.Johny Srouji — Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, Apple

This agreement enables us to focus on developing technology for the 5G network while retaining critical intellectual property and modem technology that our team has created.Bob Swan — CEO, Intel

Zayante developed FireWire (IEEE 1394) silicon and software, the high-speed serial connection standard Apple had helped pioneer. Apple absorbed the company's engineering to strengthen its in-house FireWire technology across the Mac and iPod product lines.

Silicon Grail built professional digital compositing and visual-effects software, including the Chalice and RAYZ products used in film post-production. Apple acquired the technology and team to bolster its professional video and effects application efforts.

Propel Software developed internet and network acceleration technology designed to speed up web and application performance over slower connections. Apple acquired the company's technology to enhance networking and online performance across its platforms.

Prismo Graphics made special-effects titling and text-animation software for video production. Its technology was folded into Apple's professional video tools and became the basis for the LiveType titling application in Final Cut.

Emagic was a leading provider of professional music-creation and production software, best known for its Logic sequencer with roughly 200,000 users worldwide. Apple acquired the German firm to strengthen its position in professional music tools; the technology evolved into Logic Pro and GarageBand.

Emagic has set the industry standard for professional music creation and production. We're very excited to have the Emagic team join Apple and create more amazing products for musicians.Sina Tamaddon — Apple Senior Vice President of Applications

SchemaSoft specialized in file-format engineering, building software to read and convert a wide range of document formats. Apple acquired the Canadian company's expertise to support document import and interoperability in its productivity applications such as iWork.

FingerWorks developed multi-touch gesture-recognition technology, including gesture-based keyboards and touchpads. Apple's acquisition of the company's patents and talent became a foundation for the multi-touch interfaces later used in the iPhone and Mac trackpads.

Silicon Color made FinalTouch, professional color-grading software for film and video post-production. Apple acquired the technology and integrated it into its professional video suite, where it shipped as the Color application in Final Cut Studio.

Proximity developed Artbox, a media asset-management system used in broadcast and video production workflows. Apple acquired the Australian company's technology to strengthen media management within its professional video applications.

P.A. Semi was a fabless designer of low-power, high-performance PWRficient processors and brought a roughly 150-person chip-engineering team. Apple acquired the company to build a custom silicon design capability, and its talent helped lead to Apple's own A-series processors for iPhone and iPad.

Placebase built the Pushpin mapping platform and APIs, offering an alternative to mainstream web-mapping services. Apple acquired the company's mapping technology and team, an early building block toward Apple's own Maps service.

Lala operated a web-based music streaming and store service that let users play songs in the browser. Apple acquired the company and its team, and the technology influenced Apple's move toward cloud-based music and iTunes in the cloud.

Quattro Wireless ran a mobile advertising network delivering ads across multiple smartphone platforms. Apple acquired the company and used its team and technology to launch iAd, its in-app mobile advertising platform.

Intrinsity was a semiconductor firm known for optimizing ARM processor cores for high clock speeds at low power, and had collaborated on the fast core used in Apple's A4 chip. Apple acquired the company to expand its custom-silicon design capability.

Siri built a voice-driven virtual assistant app, spun out of SRI International, that answered questions and completed tasks through natural language. Apple acquired the company and integrated the technology as the Siri assistant across its devices.

Gipsy Moth Studios worked on app regionalization and localization technology for adapting apps to different markets. Apple acquired the small team to support internationalization and regional presentation within the App Store.

Poly9 was a Canadian firm that built web-based 3D mapping and geospatial visualization tools, including the Poly9 Globe and FreeEarth browser-based globe. Apple absorbed the company and its team to strengthen its in-house mapping capabilities as it moved to build its own Maps platform and reduce reliance on Google.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Polar Rose was a Swedish facial-recognition startup whose software could detect and identify faces in photos across web and mobile platforms. Apple acquired the company and folded its computer-vision expertise into features such as face detection in the iOS Photos app.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

IMSense was a UK imaging company spun out of the University of East Anglia that developed high-dynamic-range (HDR) photography technology to capture and reproduce a wider range of light and color. Apple acquired the firm and its imaging technology, which fed into HDR photo capabilities on the iPhone camera.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

C3 Technologies was a Swedish 3D-mapping company, spun out of defense firm Saab, that used declassified image-processing and aerial-photography algorithms to build highly detailed photorealistic 3D city models. Apple acquired the company and its technology became the foundation of the Flyover feature in Apple Maps.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Chomp was a San Francisco startup that operated a search engine for discovering mobile apps by function rather than by keyword, and had powered app search for Verizon and Android. Apple acquired the team and technology to overhaul App Store search and discovery.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Redmatica was an Italian developer of professional audio software, including sample-editing and library-management tools such as KeyMap Pro and AutoSampler that ran on Apple's OS X. Apple acquired the company and its team to bolster its pro audio applications like Logic Pro.

Particle was a San Francisco design and development studio specializing in HTML5 web and web-app creative work, visual and UX design, and technical implementation. Apple acquired the firm largely for its design and engineering talent, with several staff moving to Cupertino.

Novauris Technologies was a UK speech-recognition firm that grew out of Dragon Systems' British research subsidiary and built server-based distributed speech-recognition technology such as NovaSearch. Apple acquired the company, and its team joined the Siri group to improve voice recognition.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

OttoCat was a US startup that built a system to organize and discover apps through increasingly specific subcategories using a drill-down approach rather than keyword search. Apple acquired the company, and its technology reportedly powered the App Store's Explore browsing feature.

WiFiSlam was a US startup that developed indoor positioning technology, using Wi-Fi signals to locate smartphones indoors with accuracy of a few meters where GPS is unreliable. Apple acquired the company to add indoor-location capabilities to its mapping and location services.

Locationary was a Canadian company that maintained a crowd-sourced, continuously updated database of local business and place data, using a system to reconcile and verify location listings. Apple acquired the company to improve the accuracy and freshness of point-of-interest data in Apple Maps.

HopStop was a US service that provided public-transit, walking and taxi directions across hundreds of cities via web and mobile apps. Apple acquired the company to build transit routing into Apple Maps.

Passif Semiconductor was a Silicon Valley chip startup that designed ultra-low-power wireless radios, including Bluetooth Low Energy silicon suited to battery-constrained wearables and health/fitness devices. Apple acquired the company for its low-power wireless expertise, relevant to devices such as the Apple Watch.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Matcha was a US startup whose app helped users discover TV shows and movies across services such as iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, acting as a second-screen media-discovery tool. Apple acquired the company and its technology amid speculation about Apple's television and video ambitions.

Embark was a US developer of public-transit apps that provided transit routing and schedules for major metropolitan systems. Apple acquired the company, integrating its transit technology into Apple Maps.

AlgoTrim was a Swedish firm specializing in data, image and video compression technology, including codecs and mobile imaging that reduced memory and bandwidth demands on mobile devices. Apple was linked to the acquisition after AlgoTrim's Swedish corporate records showed a change of ownership and its technology later surfaced in Apple's camera and imaging stack. Apple never formally announced the deal.

Cue, originally launched as Greplin, was a personal-assistant app that aggregated a user's email, calendar, contacts and social accounts to surface a daily agenda and contextual reminders. Apple was reported to have acquired the company and shut down the Cue app shortly afterward, with its technology and team seen as relevant to Siri and predictive-assistant features. The transaction was never officially announced by Apple.

PrimeSense was an Israeli developer of structured-light 3D depth-sensing technology, best known for the sensor design behind Microsoft's original Kinect. Apple confirmed the acquisition through its standard boilerplate statement but disclosed no terms; PrimeSense's depth-sensing know-how is widely regarded as foundational to the TrueDepth camera and Face ID. Media reported a purchase price of roughly $360 million, which Apple never officially confirmed.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Topsy Labs operated a social-analytics platform with a full index of Twitter's public posts, offering search, trend analysis and sentiment metrics. Apple acquired the company and later shut down its public products, with the analytics capabilities seen as useful for Siri, App Store and search relevance. Apple did not disclose terms; media reported a price above $200 million.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

BroadMap was a mapping-data company focused on organizing, normalizing and improving geographic data sets. Apple was reported to have acquired the firm and its mapping-data expertise as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Apple Maps. Apple never formally announced the deal or disclosed terms.

Catch.com made Catch Notes, a note-taking and lightweight productivity app for capturing text, voice and images across devices. After the service announced it was shutting down, Apple was reported to have hired much of the team, in an acqui-hire seen as relevant to notes and productivity software. Apple never officially announced the transaction.

Acunu built data-analytics and database software, including tools built on the Apache Cassandra distributed database for real-time analytics on large data streams. Apple was reported to have acquired the team, with the technology relevant to large-scale backend data infrastructure. The deal was never officially announced and terms were not disclosed.

SnappyLabs was a one-person developer whose SnappyCam app enabled full-resolution burst photography on the iPhone at far higher frame rates than the stock camera. Apple was reported to have acquired the company and its founder, and the burst-capture technique subsequently appeared in the native iOS camera. Apple did not formally announce the deal or disclose terms.

Burstly operated TestFlight, a platform for distributing pre-release iOS apps to beta testers and collecting crash and usage feedback. Apple confirmed the purchase but did not disclose pricing, and later integrated TestFlight into App Store Connect as its official beta-testing service. The team relocated to Cupertino following the deal.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

LuxVue Technology developed microLED display technology aimed at low-power, high-brightness screens for mobile and wearable devices. Apple confirmed the acquisition with its standard statement but disclosed no terms; the microLED work is widely linked to Apple's long-running display research. No purchase price was released.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Spotsetter built a social search engine for places that layered friends' recommendations and social signals over map-based local discovery. Apple was reported to have acquired the startup and shut down its app, with the technology relevant to Maps and personalized local search. Apple did not formally announce the deal or disclose terms.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Swell offered a personalized audio-streaming app that assembled a continuous, radio-like stream of podcasts and news audio tailored to a listener's interests. Apple was reported to have acquired the company and shut down the app, in a deal seen as relevant to podcasts and audio curation. Apple did not officially announce the transaction; media reported a price of roughly $30 million.

BookLamp ran the Book Genome Project, which analyzed the text of books to break down their themes, pacing and style for recommendation and discovery. Apple was reported to have acquired the company, with the analytics seen as useful for iBooks recommendations and search. Apple did not formally announce the deal; media reported a price in the tens of millions.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Prss was a Dutch startup that built tools for designing and publishing interactive digital magazines optimized for mobile devices. Apple was reported to have acquired the team, with the technology relevant to Newsstand and later News publishing tools. Apple never formally announced the transaction or disclosed terms.

Dryft developed on-screen keyboard technology that used the device's accelerometer to distinguish resting fingers from taps, enabling faster typing on touchscreens and tablets. Apple was reported to have hired the team and taken on the intellectual property in an acqui-hire relevant to iOS keyboard input. Apple did not officially announce the deal or disclose terms.

Camel Audio was a UK developer of audio plug-ins, software synthesizers and effects, best known for its Alchemy sample-manipulation synthesizer. After Camel Audio shut down its store in early 2015, Apple was linked to the acquisition through UK corporate records, and Alchemy was later integrated into Logic Pro and GarageBand. Apple gave only its standard statement and disclosed no terms.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Semetric was a London-based media analytics company whose Musicmetric platform tracked music consumption, streaming, sales and social-media signals across artists and labels. Apple was reported to have acquired the company as it prepared to relaunch Beats Music, folding the analytics capability into its music services. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

FoundationDB built a high-performance, fault-tolerant NoSQL database with strong transactional (ACID) guarantees. After the reported acquisition, FoundationDB pulled its downloads from public distribution, and the technology was widely understood to support Apple's server-side and cloud-services infrastructure. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms.

LinX Computational Imaging was an Israeli company that built miniature multi-aperture (multi-lens) camera modules capable of depth sensing and SLR-quality imaging from thin smartphone form factors. Apple was reported to have acquired the firm to advance iPhone camera capabilities. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms; media reports cited roughly $20 million but this was never officially stated.

Coherent Navigation was a US startup developing high-precision GPS and positioning technology, drawing on high-power satellite navigation signals for accuracy beyond conventional consumer GPS. After the reported acquisition its team was understood to join Apple's Maps and location efforts. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Metaio was a Munich-based augmented-reality company offering an AR software development kit and tools used by roughly a thousand commercial customers. Following the reported acquisition, Metaio cancelled its conference and halted product sales; its technology and team are widely credited as foundational to Apple's later ARKit platform. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms.

Mapsense was a San Francisco startup that built cloud tools for analyzing and visualizing large volumes of location data on map templates. Apple was reported to have acquired the company and its small team to bolster Apple Maps. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms; media reports cited roughly $25-30 million but this was never officially stated.

VocalIQ was a Cambridge, UK spin-out building a self-learning natural-language dialogue API designed to make conversations between people and machines more natural, with an emphasis on in-car voice interaction. After the reported acquisition its team was folded into Apple's Siri effort. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Perceptio was a US startup founded by AI researchers developing deep-learning image-recognition systems designed to run on smartphones without relying on large amounts of user data shared to the cloud. Its privacy-oriented, on-device machine-learning approach aligned with Apple's stance on data minimization. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms.

Faceshift was a Zurich-based company whose software captured a person's facial expressions in real time to drive animated avatars, technology previously used in film motion capture. The acquisition, reportedly completed earlier in 2015, was confirmed by press only in November; the technology is widely linked to Apple's later Animoji and TrueDepth features. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Emotient was a US startup using artificial intelligence to read facial expressions and infer emotion, without retaining personally identifiable information. Apple was reported to have acquired the company for its emotion-detection and computer-vision technology. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

LearnSprout was a San Francisco education-technology startup whose analytics software helped K-12 educators track student performance, used by thousands of school districts across dozens of US states. Apple was reported to have acquired the company as it expanded its presence in education. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Flyby Media was a US augmented-reality and computer-vision startup that had worked on 3D motion tracking and had collaborated with Google's Project Tango. Apple was reported to have acquired the company for its spatial-tracking and AR expertise. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

LegbaCore was a US firmware- and platform-security consultancy whose founders had researched low-level Mac firmware vulnerabilities, including the Thunderstrike 2 firmware worm. Its founders joined Apple in what was reported as an acqui-hire to work on low-level security; the move was reported publicly in early 2016. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Turi, previously known as Dato and GraphLab, was a Seattle machine-learning company whose platform let developers build recommendation engines, fraud detectors, churn predictors and other ML-driven applications. Apple was reported to have acquired the company to deepen its AI and machine-learning capabilities. Apple did not disclose terms; media reports cited roughly $200 million but this was never officially stated.

Gliimpse was a US personal-health-data startup building a platform for individuals to collect, personalize and share a unified picture of their health records. It was reported to be an early acquisition by Apple's digital-health team, supporting the company's Health and medical-records efforts. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Tuplejump was a Hyderabad, India-based (with US presence) machine-learning and big-data company whose software processed and analyzed large, complex data sets quickly, including the open-source FiloDB project. Apple was reported to have acquired the team to strengthen its data-analytics and machine-learning capabilities. Apple did not announce the deal or disclose terms.

Apple quietly acquired Indoor.io, a Finnish startup building indoor mapping and positioning technology for navigating large venues such as stadiums, museums, and airport terminals. The acquisition was aimed at strengthening the indoor-mapping capabilities of Apple Maps. Apple did not announce the deal, and terms were never disclosed.

Apple acquired Workflow, an award-winning iOS automation app that let users chain together app actions into custom multi-step tasks. The app and its founding team joined Apple, and the technology later became the foundation for the Shortcuts app. Apple confirmed the acquisition but did not disclose financial terms.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple acquired Beddit, a Finnish maker of sleep-tracking hardware and apps whose thin sensor strips work with iOS and Apple Watch to monitor sleep. Beddit disclosed the deal by updating its privacy policy to note it had been acquired by Apple, and Apple confirmed the purchase. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple acquired Lattice Data, a US AI startup whose inference engine converts unstructured "dark" data into structured, usable information, with roughly 20 engineers joining Apple. The technology was seen as a way to bolster Apple's AI and Siri efforts. Apple confirmed the deal but did not disclose terms; media reported a price of approximately $200 million.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple acquired SensoMotoric Instruments, a German company specializing in eye-tracking hardware and software, including eye-tracking kits for VR headsets. The purchase fueled speculation about Apple's augmented and virtual reality plans. Apple confirmed the acquisition but did not disclose financial terms.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple acquired Vrvana, a Canadian startup that developed the Totem mixed-reality headset combining augmented and virtual reality with head and hand tracking. Several Vrvana employees reportedly joined Apple in California. Apple neither confirmed nor denied the deal; media reported a price of about $30 million.

Apple acquired Regaind, a Paris-based computer-vision startup whose API analyzed photos to detect content, faces, emotions, and aesthetic and technical quality such as sharpness and exposure. The technology was expected to enhance Apple's photo features. Apple confirmed the acquisition with its standard statement but disclosed no terms.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple acqui-hired the team behind init.ai, a US startup that built conversational and messaging assistant technology using natural language processing, with the staff moving to work on Siri. Reports indicated it was a talent-focused deal in which no intellectual property transferred to Apple. Apple did not disclose terms. (Reported December 2017 rather than 2018.)

Apple acquired PowerbyProxi, a New Zealand wireless-charging company spun out of the University of Auckland that develops loosely-coupled, Qi-standard wireless power systems. Apple said it would keep the business in New Zealand. Both companies declined to disclose the purchase price.

The team at PowerbyProxi are pioneers in the wireless charging industry and we are thrilled to have them join Apple. Apple is committed to a wireless future and the team from PowerbyProxi will be a great addition as we work to bring truly effortless charging to more places and more customers around the world.Dan Riccio — Apple Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering

Apple quietly acquired InVisage Technologies, a US startup behind QuantumFilm, a quantum-dot-based image-sensor material that absorbs light in a layer far thinner than silicon for better low-light photography. Some employees joined Apple while others were let go, and the deal reportedly closed around mid-2017. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms.

Apple acquired Pop Up Archive, an Oakland-based startup that built tools to transcribe, tag, organize, and search spoken-word audio, including the Audiosear.ch podcast search engine. The technology was expected to improve podcast search and discovery in Apple's Podcasts app. Apple did not disclose financial terms.

Apple acquired Spektral, a Copenhagen-based computer-vision startup (formerly CloudCutout) specializing in real-time image and video segmentation, effectively a software "green screen" for cutting subjects from their backgrounds. The technology has applications in augmented reality and image editing. Apple confirmed the deal in 2018; the purchase reportedly occurred around December 2017 for a media-reported figure of more than $30 million, with terms undisclosed by Apple.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple hired the technology team from Silicon Valley Data Science, a US data-science and engineering consultancy, in what was reported as an acqui-hire of at least 18 people including co-founders. Apple stated it hired a group of employees rather than acquiring the company itself. No financial terms were disclosed.

Apple acquired Laserlike, a US machine-learning startup founded by former Google engineers that built an "interest search engine" surfacing personalized news, video, and web content. The founders and team joined Apple's AI group under John Giannandrea. Apple confirmed the acquisition in 2019 but did not disclose terms; the deal occurred in 2018.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Apple quietly acquired Silk Labs, a San Francisco startup founded by former Mozilla executives that built privacy-focused, on-device AI software for home hubs and mobile devices. Its approach processed data directly on-device rather than in the cloud, aligning with Apple's privacy positioning. Apple did not confirm the deal or disclose terms; the roughly dozen-person company had raised about $4 million.

Apple acquired Tueo Health, a US startup that emerged from a Stanford incubator and was developing an app to help parents monitor asthma symptoms in sleeping children using commercial breathing sensors. The deal advanced Apple's health ambitions and likely closed in late 2018. Apple did not comment on the acquisition or disclose terms.

Buddybuild was a Vancouver-based mobile continuous-integration platform offering automated build, testing, debugging and crash-reporting tools for iOS and Android developers. Apple acqui-hired the roughly 40-person team, which joined Apple's Xcode engineering group; the Android side of the service was shut down.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Akonia Holographics was a Denver-based startup building thin, transparent holographic waveguide lenses (its HoloMirror technology) for augmented-reality glasses. Apple confirmed the purchase, which fed its long-rumored AR/head-worn display efforts.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Platoon was a London-based artist-development and creative-services company, founded by iTunes veteran Denzyl Feigelson, that helped independent musicians create, produce and distribute their work. Apple later rolled Platoon's capabilities into artist-facing tools.

PullString, founded by former Pixar executives and previously known as ToyTalk, built conversational-voice design tools and AI, including the technology behind Mattel's talking Hello Barbie. Apple was expected to apply its voice expertise and developer tooling to Siri.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Stamplay was an Italian startup offering an API-based backend and workflow-automation platform that let developers connect and orchestrate cloud services. Its technology and team were reported to have moved to Apple's Claris/FileMaker subsidiary.

Drive.ai was a Mountain View autonomous-vehicle startup, founded by Stanford researchers, that had run self-driving shuttle pilots in Texas but was near shutdown. Apple hired dozens of its engineers and bought vehicles and assets in an acqui-hire that reinforced its self-driving ('Project Titan') effort.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

IKinema was a UK motion-capture and inverse-kinematics software company with roots in aerospace, whose real-time animation technology was used in games and virtual production. Apple confirmed the acquisition, seen as supporting its AR/VR and animation ambitions.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Spectral Edge was a UK computational-photography startup whose patented 'Phusion' technology fused infrared and visible-light image data to improve low-light color and detail. Its technology was expected to enhance iPhone camera image processing.

Xnor.ai was a Seattle edge-AI startup spun out of the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) that ran computer-vision and machine-learning models locally on low-power devices rather than in the cloud. Media reports put the deal in the roughly $200 million range, supporting Apple's on-device AI strategy.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Scout FM was a startup whose app used AI to assemble podcasts into continuous, radio-style stations tailored to listeners. Apple had quietly acquired it earlier in 2020, with the deal becoming public in September; the app was shut down.

Dark Sky was a popular hyperlocal weather app known for minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts and a widely used weather API. Following the acquisition, the iOS app continued, the Android and Wear OS apps were shut down, and the API was later wound down as the technology fed Apple's Weather app.

There is no better place to accomplish these goals than at Apple.Adam Grossman — co-founder, Dark Sky

Voysis was a Dublin-based voice-AI startup that built natural-language understanding for digital assistants, notably within shopping apps, and had shrunk its models small enough to run on-device. Its technology was expected to improve Siri's natural-language capabilities.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

NextVR was a Newport Beach startup that captured and streamed live sports, concerts and other events in virtual reality, holding more than 40 patents and partnerships with the NBA, Fox Sports and Wimbledon. Apple confirmed the deal, seen as building content and technology for future AR/VR products.

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.Apple spokesperson

Fleetsmith was a San Francisco startup offering cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) to automatically set up, patch and secure Apple devices for businesses. The acquisition gave Apple a first-party device-management offering; it was later integrated and the standalone product discontinued.

Our shared values of putting the customer at the center of everything we do without sacrificing privacy and security, means we can truly meet our mission, delivering Fleetsmith to businesses and institutions of all sizes, around the world.Fleetsmith team

Mobeewave was a Montreal payments startup whose software let a smartphone accept contactless card and mobile-wallet payments using only its built-in NFC chip, without extra hardware. Its technology underpinned Apple's later Tap to Pay on iPhone feature.

Camerai, founded in 2014 as Tipit and rebranded in 2018, was an Israeli augmented-reality and computer-vision startup specializing in real-time camera, AR and image-segmentation technology. Apple reportedly acquired the company quietly, with the deal only surfacing publicly in August 2020, and folded Camerai's team into its computer-vision efforts. Its technology was said to have been incorporated into Apple's camera and AR features.

Spaces was a US virtual-reality startup, founded in 2016 by former DreamWorks Animation staff, that built location-based VR experiences before pivoting to VR/AR avatars for video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Skype. Apple confirmed the acquisition in August 2020. It was Apple's second VR-related purchase that year after NextVR.

Curious AI (The Curious AI Company) was a Helsinki, Finland-based machine-learning startup working on autonomous, interactive and self-supervised 'core AI' systems. Apple reportedly acquired the company around late 2020 to early 2021, with its web presence disappearing shortly after. The deal was never officially confirmed by Apple.

AI Music was a London, UK startup founded in 2016 that used artificial intelligence to generate adaptive, royalty-free soundtracks that change dynamically based on user interaction via its 'Infinite Music Engine.' Apple was reported in February 2022 to have acquired the roughly 17-person company. Potential applications spanned Fitness+, Photos slideshows and other services.

Credit Kudos was a UK open-banking fintech that used consumers' consented bank-account data to build credit-scoring and affordability assessments for lenders. Apple was reported in March 2022 to have acquired the company, with the deal seen as bolstering Apple's payments and lending ambitions (including Apple Card and buy-now-pay-later). Apple did not officially disclose terms.

Mira (Mira Labs) was a Los Angeles-based startup founded in 2016 that built lightweight augmented-reality headsets, including units used at Nintendo World theme-park attractions and by the US military. Apple acquired the company in June 2023, one day after unveiling Apple Vision Pro, hiring at least 11 employees. Financial terms were not disclosed.

BIS Records was a 50-year-old Swedish classical-music record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr, specializing in early and contemporary classical recordings. Apple acquired the label in September 2023, folding it into Apple Music Classical and its Platoon operation, following earlier moves such as the Primephonic acquisition and the launch of Apple Music Classical. BIS's staff, including von Bahr, were retained.

We thought long and hard on how to maintain and build upon our prestigious history and looked for a partner who would further our mission, as well as an increased global platform to bring classical music to new audiences all over the world.Robert von Bahr — Founder, BIS Records

DarwinAI was a Canadian AI startup spun out of the University of Waterloo, specializing in visual-inspection AI for manufacturing and techniques to make AI models smaller and more efficient for on-device use. Apple reportedly acquired the company in early 2024, with dozens of employees joining its AI division and co-founder Alexander Wong taking a director role. Apple did not officially confirm the deal.

RAC7 was a two-person Vancouver, Canada game studio behind the Apple Arcade breakout hit Sneaky Sasquatch, as well as earlier indie titles Dark Echo and Splitter Critters. In May 2025 Apple confirmed it had acquired the studio — its first-ever video-game studio purchase — to keep developing Sneaky Sasquatch as an internal Apple team. Apple characterized the deal as a unique, one-off situation rather than a broader gaming strategy.

We love Sneaky Sasquatch and are excited that the 2-person RAC7 team has joined Apple to continue their work on it with us.Apple spokesperson

IC Mask Design is a Limerick, Ireland firm providing physical layout and mask design services for analog integrated circuits, plus related training, using specialized CAD tools. Apple's acquisition — believed to have occurred around mid-2025 — surfaced on September 30, 2025 via the EU's Digital Markets Act list of gatekeeper acquisitions. Few details were made public.

Kuzu was an Ontario, Canada startup (spun out of the University of Waterloo, launched 2023) that built an embedded graph database designed for query speed, scalability and ease of use. Apple's acquisition reportedly closed around October 2025 and surfaced publicly in February 2026 via EU filings, after which Kuzu archived its GitHub repository and removed most of its public presence. Apple did not disclose terms or plans.

Q.ai was a secretive Israeli AI startup founded in 2022 by Aviad Maizels (who previously sold PrimeSense to Apple), backed by Kleiner Perkins and Gradient Ventures, working on imaging and machine-learning technology including interpreting whispered/near-silent speech and enhancing audio in noisy environments. Apple's acquisition was reported in late January 2026, with the founding team joining Apple to work on audio and spatial computing. Apple did not disclose terms and did not file an acquisition-specific SEC report.

MotionVFX is a Polish company founded in 2009 by Szymon Masiak that makes premium plugins, transitions, titles, effects and AI-assisted tools for Apple's Final Cut Pro and Motion (with compatibility for DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro). Apple announced the acquisition on March 16, 2026, bringing roughly 70 employees on board, weeks after launching its Creator Studio subscription bundle. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Color.io was a web-based color-grading and photography tool built by VisionColor creator Jonathan Ochmann, known for its custom color engine, analog film-style grading and volumetric film-grain tools, with a following of more than 200,000 creators. Apple actually acquired Ochmann's one-person company Patchflyer GmbH; the deal dated to January 2026 and surfaced publicly in May 2026 via EU acquisition disclosures, with Ochmann joining Apple. The Color.io service shut down on December 31, 2025.

Pixelmator, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, is the developer of the well-regarded Mac and iOS creative apps Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS and Photomator. On November 1, 2024, the Pixelmator Team officially announced it had signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, subject to regulatory approval; the deal was completed in February 2025. Neither company disclosed a price, and Pixelmator said there would be no material changes to the apps at the time.

There will be no material changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time.Pixelmator Team

Datakalab was a Paris, France startup founded in 2017 specializing in low-power, runtime-efficient deep-learning algorithms, AI model compression and on-device computer vision. Apple reportedly completed the acquisition in December 2023, with the deal only surfacing publicly in April 2024 via reports that it had been notified to the European Commission. Neither Apple nor Datakalab acknowledged the deal.

Apple acquired Primephonic, a classical-music streaming service known for search and browse tools optimized for classical repertoire, high-quality audio and expert recommendations. Apple said Primephonic features would be integrated into Apple Music and that it planned to launch a dedicated classical-music app the following year. Primephonic stopped taking new subscribers and went offline shortly after the deal, with existing subscribers offered free Apple Music. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition led to the 2023 launch of Apple Music Classical.

We love and have a deep respect for classical music, and Primephonic has become a fan favorite for classical enthusiasts. Together, we're bringing great new classical features to Apple Music, and in the near future, we'll deliver a dedicated classical experience that will truly be the best in the world.Oliver Schusser — Vice President of Apple Music and Beats, Apple

Bringing the best of Primephonic to Apple Music subscribers is a tremendous development for the classical music industry.Thomas Steffens — Co-founder and CEO, Primephonic

Apple agreed to acquire a portion of UK-listed Dialog Semiconductor, taking over patents, assets and about 300 engineers focused on power-management chips (PMICs) for iPhone, along with Dialog offices in the UK, Italy and Germany. The deal brought critical power-management silicon design in-house.

Apple announced it had completed its acquisition of Shazam, the widely used music-recognition app that lets users identify songs by listening to audio around them. Apple said the Shazam app would soon become ad-free for all users. Financial terms were not disclosed. Shazam had been an early App Store title and was one of Apple's few acquisitions to draw a formal EU regulatory review before closing.

Apple and Shazam have a long history together. Shazam was one of the first apps available when we launched the App Store and has become a favorite app for music fans everywhere. With a shared love of music and innovation, we are thrilled to bring our teams together to provide users even more great ways to discover, experience and enjoy music.Oliver Schusser — Vice President of Apple Music, Apple

Apple acquired the Beats Music subscription streaming service and Beats Electronics, maker of the Beats line of headphones, speakers and audio software. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre joined Apple as part of the transaction. Apple stated a total deal value of $3 billion; its FY2014 10-K later recorded purchase-price consideration of $2.6 billion. The Beats streaming assets and team became the basis for what Apple developed into Apple Music.

Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple. That's why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.Tim Cook — CEO, Apple

I've always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple. The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple's unmatched ability to marry culture and technology.Jimmy Iovine — Co-founder, Beats

Anobit was an Israeli fabless semiconductor company that designed flash-memory controllers using signal-processing techniques to boost the endurance and performance of NAND flash. Apple acquired the company for its memory-controller expertise, which it applied to the storage in devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod, and it became the basis of Apple's first R&D center in Israel.

Nothing Real developed Shake, a high-end compositing and visual-effects application widely used in film production. Apple acquired the company and its Shake software to build out its professional video and post-production application lineup, continuing to sell Shake before later folding its technology into Apple's pro apps.

Bluefish Labs was a U.S. developer of web-based productivity and calendaring/scheduling software. Apple acquired the small company to strengthen its internet-based productivity and services efforts.

bluebuzz was a U.S. internet service provider. Apple acquired the small company for its internet-service technology and personnel to support its online and internet-services initiatives.

Spruce Technologies was a U.S. maker of professional DVD-authoring and encoding software. Apple acquired the company to reinforce its DVD-authoring product line, feeding technology into DVD Studio Pro alongside its earlier Astarte acquisition.

PowerSchool was the leading provider of web-based student information systems for K-12 schools and districts, letting administrators and teachers manage student records and giving parents real-time access to their children's progress. Apple acquired the company to expand its education mission into school administration software; it later sold PowerSchool to Pearson in 2006.

Apple has a legacy of helping teachers teach and students learn. We are now expanding that mission to include helping schools run more effectively.Steve Jobs — Apple CEO

NetSelector was a U.S. internet-software company whose technology targeted managed and filtered web browsing, relevant to education and kiosk deployments. Apple acquired the small firm to fold its internet-software know-how into its platform efforts.

Astarte was a German developer of professional DVD-authoring software, including the DVDirector and A.Pack MPEG encoding tools. Apple acquired the technology and used it as the foundation for its own DVD Studio Pro authoring application and the A.Pack encoder.

SoundJam MP was a popular Mac MP3 player and jukebox application (developed by Jeff Robbin and Bill Kincaid, published by Casady & Greene). Apple quietly acquired the software and hired its developers, reworking it into iTunes, which launched in January 2001 and became the hub of Apple's digital-music strategy.

Xemplar Education was a UK education-technology company originally formed as a joint venture between Apple and Acorn Computers to serve British schools. Apple acquired the venture outright to consolidate control of its education-software and channel presence in the United Kingdom.

Raycer Graphics was a U.S. designer of high-performance computer graphics chips. Apple acquired the company primarily for its engineering talent, strengthening Apple's in-house graphics and silicon capabilities.

Power Computing was the leading maker of Macintosh clones licensed to run the Mac OS. After Steve Jobs returned in 1997, Apple ended the clone program by buying Power Computing's core assets, including its Mac OS license, its customer database, and key direct-marketing, distribution, and engineering employees, effectively shutting down the cloning business.

Coral Software developed Macintosh Common Lisp, a well-regarded Lisp development environment for the Mac. Apple acquired the company to bring the technology in-house, where it continued as Macintosh Common Lisp and supported Apple's advanced-technology and AI research work.

Network Innovations was a small U.S. software firm working on data communications and connectivity tools. Apple absorbed the team and technology to bolster its networking and connectivity software efforts during the late-1980s Macintosh era.

Orion Network Systems was a U.S. software company focused on networking technology. Apple acquired it to add networking expertise and code to its platform software portfolio in 1988.

Styleware was a U.S. developer of productivity software for the Apple II, best known for the integrated suite that became AppleWorks GS. Apple acquired the company (folding it into its Claris software subsidiary) to expand its integrated-productivity offerings for the Apple II line.

Nashoba Systems was the U.S. creator of the flat-file database application that became FileMaker. Apple acquired the technology (published and later expanded through its Claris subsidiary), turning FileMaker into a flagship cross-platform database product.