Apple just gave a clue that an AI acquisition may be in the cards

apple quietly dropped its net-cash-neutral target this week — a policy that had kept the company from sitting on too much cash. with that guardrail gone, the company now has more room to spend big. some are reading it as a signal that apple is preparing to buy its way into the ai race, where it's widely seen as behind. the company has been slower than rivals to ship generative ai features, and a large acquisition could close that gap faster than building in-house. apple hasn't confirmed any deal, but the policy shift opens the door for one.