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title: Apple’s M&A binge
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| Agent ROI. Consumer wearables. RIP metaverse.    View in browser March 19, 2026 Apple of my eye Hi there,   Here is this week's Hot or Not. Hot: Apple’s acquisition spree   Apple has already closed 3 acquisitions in 2026, on pace to beat its historical average of ~5 per year.   The deals span hardware, software, and creator tools: Audio & facial recognition AI (Q.ai) Photonics research (Invrs.io) Video editing tools (MotionVFX)  CB Insights customers track where Apple is placing its bets with our Apple Strategy Map.  Not: Measuring agent ROI   Enterprise leaders are struggling to measure the impact of their AI agents.   According to CB Insights data, 63% of director-level+ enterprise leaders track productivity gains to assess agent performance, but less than 20% track ROI. To fill the gap, software engineering analytics platforms are building measurement frameworks for AI coding workflows.    Span, which raised funding in November 2025, is challenging incumbents like GitLab and Harness with tools to evaluate AI-driven productivity.   Read more about this in our recent tech trends report.     Hot: Consumer wearables   Consumer wearables are moving into medical-grade diagnostics, with FDA regulation and consumer demand finally converging.   Based on CB Insights hiring data, Oura, Whoop, and Huawei are all staffing up in regulatory affairs, clinical validation, and medical device roles, a clear signal of the push toward FDA-cleared diagnostic features. Explore the full trend in our 2026 digital health predictions report.   Not: The metaverse Meta was rumored to be shutting down VR support for Horizon Worlds, until the company’s CTO walked that back today. The uncertainty reflects the deteriorating state of the metaverse more broadly.    The company’s earnings calls already flag the decline: mentions of "metaverse" and "Horizon" fell to zero by Q4'25. The reversal comes as Meta shifts resources toward AI, as evidenced by its recent acquisitions of AI agent social network Moltbook and agent developer Manus.    Dig into Meta’s evolving strategy in its Strategy Map.   The +1   AI chart fail. Arts, Design, & Media marked safe.       I love you.   Anand @asanwal  Co-Founder & Exec Chair   P.S. Want to know what’s next in physical AI? Register for our briefing here. Get started with CB Insights Start your free trial CB Insights' emerging technology insights platform provides all the analysis and data from this newsletter. Our data is the easiest way to discover and respond to emerging tech.  Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here Copyright © 2025 CB Insights, All rights reserved. 498 7th Avenue, NY, CB Insights, New York,10018 About Us \| Update Preferences \| Research \| Newsletter |
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