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

Tim Cook’s Apple may have passed on buying Tesla, but the company sure has an interesting list of smaller companies it bought during the outgoing CEO’s tenure.

Let’s stroll down Mergers and Acquisitions memory lane and revisit some of the top company takeovers during Tim Cook’s time at the top.

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

When John Ternus takes over as Apple CEO on September 1, it’ll take years for the new chief executive officer to catch up with Cook’s M&A record.

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

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

The following year, Apple acquired Israeli startup PrimeSense which is credited with developing Face ID technology that arrived with iPhone X in 2017.

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

In March 2017, Apple purchased Workflow, the automation and scripting app for iPhone and iPad. The team later shipped Shortcuts, which also integrates with the Mac and Apple Home.

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

In 2018, Apple bought the subscription magazine service Texture, which later morphed into Apple News+. That same year, Apple acquired Shazam, the song tagging service that has continued to stick around.

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

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

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

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

In August 2021, Apple bought Primephonic, the classical music streaming service that eventually became Apple Music Classical in 2023.

At the end of 2024, we saw Apple buy Pixelmator, which became part of the Apple Creator Studio in 2026.

Last year, Tim Cook’s Apple bought RAC7, the two-person game studio behind Apple Arcade’s Sneaky Sasquatch title. Also in the content space, Apple bought the rights to Apple TV’s Severance.

Apple’s most recent acquisitions under Cook include Q.ai, a purchase that will likely improve Siri and Apple Intelligence, and MotionVFX, which makes content for Final Cut Pro, now part of Apple Creator Studio.

Those are just 16 of the most interesting mergers and acquisitions from Apple under Tim Cook’s leadership as CEO.

For me, Beats Electronics will always be the signature Tim Cook acquisition for Apple.

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

I’m most 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 top picks? What firms should John Ternus include on his shopping list when he takes over for Cook on September 1? Let us know in the comments.