Cupertino “on the prowl”, buys 24 companies in the past 18 months.Apple has purchased a total of 24 companies in the past 18 months, CEO Tim Cook revealed today as Cupertino announced quarterly profits of $10.2 billion.
SnappyLabs, Burstly, WifiSLAM and Topsy are among the start-ups snapped up by Apple in the past year and a half with several of the 24 acquisitions still a mystery.
The revelation comes as criticism continues about Cupertino’s apparent lack of innovation or ability to deliver a larger sized iPhone faster, as Android competitors like Samsung continue to eat into its market share, although rumours of Apple TV and iWatch have been circulating for over a year now.
Cook said investing in R&D and hardware, software, and services was essential to the company, although start-ups must “fit culturally,” and have “great technology.”
He also said Apple could do a Facebook on it and pay over one billion dollars for a start up, which it has not done, to date. “We don’t have a rule that says we can’t spend a lot or whatever.”
“We’re eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market,” he added.
Apple quarterly revenues hit $45.6 billion to quarter ended March 29, up on the same time a year ago.
