Between 2016 and 2020, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook acquired 60 AI companies. The Cupertino company made almost half of these acquisitions.
Four out of the five largest buying companies are American, according to a report by analyst firm GlobalData. Ireland-based Accenture was the only non-US company in the top-5 list.
"AI has remained a key focus area for tech giants, and growing competition to dominate the space has resulted in an acquisition spree among these companies," said Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData.
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Apple's activity is related to the development of Siri and the creation of new features for the iPhone. Analysts are confident that in this way, Tim Cook wants Siri to surpass Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Apple also wants to maintain its position in the field of wearable devices, for example, smartwatches.
It is not the first study to identify Apple as the top acquirer of AI companies. A 2019 CB Insights report found that Apple has made more AI acquisitions than Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google since purchasing Siri in 2010.
The takeover is Apple's overall strategy for developing its technology. Tim Cook recently revealed that the company had acquired about 100 companies over the past six years. That's one acquisition every three to four weeks.