Apple prepares for 'America First' with historic investments of 500 billion

Apple CEO Tim Cook made it clear yesterday that the slogan America First is engraved on the frontispiece of the manufacturer of iPhones, iPads and Macs. For now, the company has announced investments of 500 billion dollars (477 billion euros) over the next four years in its country of origin, an amount that serves to eliminate suspicions regarding the absence of the chief executive of the multinational from the apple multinational in the photos of the presidential inauguration ceremony. In that snapshot, Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Sundar Pichai (Alphabet) stood out , but there was no trace of Cook or Satya Nadella. The latter, president of Microsoft, not only donated a million dollars to the Republican president's investiture fund (as did his counterparts at Meta, Google and OpenAI) but also confirmed investments of 80 billion dollars in the construction of new data centers in 2025.

Apple's investment bet matches that of Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle , sponsors of the $500 billion "Stargate" project, whose first destination will be a data center in Texas. Meta plans to build a colossal data center with investments of $65 billion , and Google has acknowledged investments in R&D in the US of $45 billion.

Over the next four years of investment, Apple plans to hire around 20,000 people, the vast majority of whom will focus on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning. Among other details, this is the largest spending commitment in Apple's history, according to the company's corporate website, where it also justifies this commitment "in Apple's long history of investing in American innovation and highly skilled manufacturing."

Apple plans to build a large plant in Houston, Texas, to produce servers ready to meet the growing demand for resources from Apple Intelligence , the personal intelligence system that is now beginning to help users write, express themselves and get things done in an extraordinarily easy and effective way. The Texas center, which is expected to open in 2026, will have 23,000 square meters, with thousands of new jobs . The multinational will also double the production capacity of the US Advanced Manufacturing Fund, created in 2017 to strengthen innovation in the United States, where it will increase investments from the current 5 billion to 10 billion dollars. At the same time, the company will launch an academy in Michigan to train the next generation of American manufacturers.

At the center, Apple engineers will advise small and medium-sized businesses on the implementation of AI and smart manufacturing techniques. The academy will also offer free in-person and online courses aimed at "boosting productivity, efficiency and quality in companies' supply chains." Also in the educational field, Apple will subsidize courses for organizations such as 4-H, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and FIRST . In the same package of commitments, Apple will increase its R&D investments in the US to support silicon engineering. In addition, the giant will provide greater material and human resources in Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina and Washington.

"We're optimistic about the future of American innovation, and we're proud to expand our long-term investments in the U.S.," Cook said, after showing his group's willingness to continue working "with people and companies across the country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation." The ripple effect of Apple's locomotive is assured since such an investment party implies guaranteed work for thousands of suppliers in all 50 states, with direct employment in Apple Intelligence 's technological infrastructure and data centers, as well as in corporate facilities and Apple TV+ productions in 20 states.

Specifically, Apple's suppliers already manufacture silicon wafers in 24 factories located in a dozen states, including Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Utah. All of that material is destined for customers such as Broadcom, Texas Instruments, Skyworks and Qorvo for the production of next-generation chips, as well as supplying TSMC's Fab 21, located in Arizona.

In case there was any doubt, Apple reminds us that "it remains one of the largest taxpayers in the United States, having paid more than $75 billion in US taxes over the past five years , including $19 billion in 2024 alone." In addition, the company emphasizes, "Apple currently supports more than 2.9 million jobs across the country through direct employment, work with US-based suppliers and manufacturers, and developer positions in the iOS app economy.