Amazon is buying Zoox, a self-driving car startup that employs at least 17 people who previously worked on Apple’s Project Titan.

The Information first reported the purchase of Zoox, and Amazon confirmed it Friday in a blog post. The deal could set Amazon back upward of $1 billion.

Whenever Apple moves to purchase a company, you know they’ve got something up their sleeves, and it’s not hard to imagine the possibilities of their latest acquisition: maker of fingerprint sensor chips, AuthenTec.

In 2025 an unprecedented talent exodus decimated Apple’s leadership ranks, with Meta Platforms emerging as the primary beneficiary of the iPhone maker’s retention struggles. The social media giant has successfully lured away four high-profile executives from Apple’s artificial intelligence and design divisions, raising serious questions about the Cupertino company’s competitive position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Find out more about the top executives left Apple for Meta below.

November 20, 2007: In a milestone for iTunes movie distribution, Purple Violets becomes the first feature film to launch exclusively on Apple’s platform.

A romantic comedy directed by Edward Burns, Purple Violets stars Selma Blair, Debra Messing and Patrick Wilson. With limited offers from Hollywood’s traditional players, the filmmakers pin their hopes on iTunes distribution as an alternative way to get their movie in front of viewers.

November 3, 2010: Apple prepares to launch the Mac App Store, publicly accepting app submissions from registered developers — and kicking off a gold rush among coders.

After witnessing the enormous sums of money raked in by early entrants in the iOS App Store, the easy-to-use digital storefront that revolutionized software distribution on the iPhone, developers flood Apple with new Mac apps.

October 4, 2011: With the unveiling of the iPhone 4s, Apple introduces the world to Siri. A groundbreaking example of artificial intelligence in action, the Siri launch fulfills a long-term dream at Apple.

In fact, the company first predicted such a feature in the 1980s — with Siri’s debut coming at almost the exact month Apple envisioned.

Apple has an AI problem, and it’s hoping to solve it in the traditional manner: by pouring money on it.

In a conference call with investors Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the company’s costs for developing artificial intelligence technology continue to grow. He also mentioned that the company is not just open to acquiring companies with AI expertise — it’s already actively doing so.

Nevertheless, the AI-enhanced version of Siri won’t arrive before 2026.

Apple acquired the brilliant image-editing app Pixelmator in November 2024. And now, eight months later, it’s updating the app with Apple Intelligence support.

For now, AI integration remains exclusive to Pixelmator Pro on Mac.

Apple has reportedly resumed talks with OpenAI about using its technology to power iOS 18’s AI features. The company will use OpenAI’s LLM model to seemingly power an AI-based chatbot.

OpenAI and Apple are also discussing how they can integrate OpenAI features into iOS 18.

When it comes to deploying artificial intelligence in products, companies like Google might seem quicker on the draw than Apple. But no major tech company bought more AI startups than the iPhone-maker in 2023, according to a new report.

That suggests Apple might soon become a leader in generative AI rather than playing catch-up.