Apple’s US$1b fund to grow interest in manufacturing
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is creating a fund to get more people in the United States to do “advanced manufacturing”, kicking it off with a billion dollars, said its chief Tim Cook on Wednesday.
Apple spent more than US$50 billion (RM216 billion) in the US last year, buying from suppliers, working with developers behind applications for the California company’s devices and more, said Cook in an interview on CNBC.
The company had about 80,000 employees in the US and planned to hire thousands “in the future”, he said.
The first investment of the new fund would be announced later this month, said Apple.
Meanwhile, in London, Apple’s key supplier Imagination Technologies said it had started a “dispute resolution procedure” with the iPhone maker after failing to resolve a standoff over licensing.
Imagination said last month that Apple had notified the British firm it was developing its own graphics chips and would no longer use Imagination’s processing designs in 15 months to two years time.
The potential loss of Apple, which accounts for about half of the firm’s revenue, sent its shares down 70 per cent on the day, and the stock has barely recovered. It has also sent shudders through other Apple suppliers.
Imagination receives royalties from every sale of an Apple device containing its designs, including the iPhone and iPad.
It said on Thursday it had been unable to make satisfactory progress with Apple on an alternative commercial arrangements for the licence and royalty agreement.
“Imagination has commenced the dispute resolution procedure under the licence agreement, with a view to reaching an agreement through a more structured process,” it said. Agencies