Apple Inc. is one of the largest firms in the world, with a market cap of $2.4 trillion and net revenues of $274.5 billion in the fiscal year 2020. Since its inception in 1976, the tech behemoth has expanded into a diversified industry leader selling hardware like iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers in addition to software and streaming services like video games and Apple TV+.

Apple acquired a significant number of companies in the latter half of 2020, one of those being the immensely successful weather app Dark Sky. It also acquired NextVR, a virtual reality streaming business, for an estimated $100 million in May of 2020.3

Beats Electronics and Beats Music

Apple's purchase of Beats Electronics and its streaming service, Beats Music, for $3 billion in cash and shares is the company's biggest acquisition to date. Founded in 2006 by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Beats Electronics debuted its namesake headphones in 2008. 7 Since making the purchase, Apple has been able to offer the Beats brand of headphones in its stores and through resellers.

Before the transaction, Dr Dre, Iovine, and the private equity firm Carlyle Group were among the minority shareholders in Beats. Apple's streaming music service, Apple Music, was inspired by Beats Music in various ways. In 2015, Beats Music ceased operations, and Apple Music was made available to its users. Apple has been very proactive in establishing Beats Electronics' headphones, earbuds, and speakers as integral parts of the company's portfolio. 5

Siri Inc.

Siri was initially created by SRI International's Artificial Intelligence Center and voice technology firm Nuance Communications. In 2008, Siri was separated from SRI International to become its firm. Siri was initially created as stand-alone software for essential functions like making restaurant reservations, checking the weather, and purchasing event tickets.

The earliest iPhones from Apple included support for voice activation. The iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV use Siri. Apple's method of buying a firm for specific technology and then incorporating it into its existing products is shown by Siri.

Shazam

The Shazam app was created by Shazam Entertainment Limited, which was incorporated in 1999. To integrate the technology into iPhones and other smart devices, Apple purchased Shazam in 2018 for an estimated $400 million.

Apple's Siri already had a music identification mechanism built in, but Shazam's was considered more potent. Advertising has been removed from all Shazam subscription plans, with the firm saying it would now monetize through in-app music sales.

NeXT Software

In 1985, after being fired from Apple, Steve Jobs founded NeXT to create new computer hardware and operating systems. The NeXT computer, designed for institutional and commercial usage, became the company's most recognizable product.

In December of 1996, Apple announced that they had reached a deal to buy NeXT, and shortly after, Jobs returned to Apple as CEO. For close to two decades, Apple's most expensive purchase was NeXT, whose technology was integral to the creation of Apple's products.

AuthenTec

In 1998, a division of Harris Corp., AuthenTec Inc., was established. Around 200 patents covering a wide range of computer and technological security applications and products were owned by AuthenTec at the time of its acquisition by Apple in 2012. Apple's biometric security tool ended up being the most helpful of these. Thus the company implemented it across a wide range of its products.

Touch ID, developed by Apple, is the product of such a tool. Thanks to this technological advancement, iPhones and other mobile devices may now be unlocked with a simple finger swipe. AuthenTec's offerings have been folded into Apple's main ones, just like those of many other companies Apple has bought.

Mobeewave

Mobeewave began in Montreal in 2011. The software firm designed a system that uses near-field communicatio technology to enable payments by touching a user's smartphone or credit card on another user's smartphone. The approximate $100 million spent on this one seems relatively tiny compared to the cost of Apple's other significant acquisitions.

Although Apple has not yet released any financial products, Mobeewave's technology may play a substantial part in their development. The Apple Card, Apple's credit card, was released this year. As a result, Mobeewave may put Apple in more direct rivalry with established players in the payments industry like Square Inc.

Apple Diversity & Inclusiveness Transparency

We've brought attention to Apple's openness about its dedication to diversity, inclusion, and societal responsibility as part of our campaign to raise public understanding of the significance of diversity in the workplace.

Apple's diversity in leadership and staff is depicted in the following graph. This reveals whether or not Apple provides information regarding the racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation diversity of its board of directors, executive team, and management. This openness has been signalled by a