Apple’s recent moves are a testament to its singular approach to AI development.
Unlike big tech peers like Google and Meta, it’s largely kept its in-house model development activity out of the public eye. With a focus on the on-device user experience — and smaller models as a result — Apple is relying on external large language models (LLMs) from partners like OpenAI to round out its generative AI suite.
Using CB Insights data, we uncovered the 3 biggest strategic priorities in Apple’s AI strategy:
- Apple is angling for an AI agent built on top of its app empire. The company aims to turbocharge Siri through its OpenAI partnership, marking its entrance into agentic AI.
- A hybrid — and invisible — approach to genAI models. Apple is betting on internally built, privacy-friendly small language models (SLMs) and chips while outsourcing the expense of LLM development. This move is designed to make AI so intuitive that it’s invisible.
- Spatial computing and augmented reality (AR) are the next frontiers. Apple’s AI strategy goes beyond its phones and computers: Apple is leveraging acquisitions — with a focus on AR, machine vision, and image recognition — to advance its spatial computing efforts.
Below, we map Apple’s recent acquisitions and partnerships across tech categories, and then break down how these relationships ladder up to the priorities above.
