From Apple to Accenture: Companies acquire AI startups in race for capabilities

Large companies across technology, consulting, financial services and enterprise software are increasingly turning to acquisitions to accelerate their artificial intelligence ambitions.

In 2026 alone, companies including Apple, OpenAI, Meta, Accenture, American Express, Salesforce, Cognizant and ServiceNow struck deals spanning AI infrastructure, enterprise automation, robotics, commerce technology and next-generation user interfaces, highlighting the growing race to secure specialized AI capabilities and talent.

OpenAI targets cloud execution startup Ona

OpenAI announced plans to acquire Ona, a company focused on secure cloud execution and orchestration technology. The company said Ona's technology will help expand the capabilities of Codex by enabling AI agents to operate in persistent cloud environments and handle longer-running tasks. OpenAI said the acquisition is intended to support enterprise deployment of AI agents while giving customers greater control over infrastructure and security.

Meta acquires robotics AI startup ARI

Meta acquired Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI), a startup focused on developing AI models for robots, as part of its broader push into humanoid technology. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Under the deal, ARI's team, including co-founders Lerrel Pinto and Xiaolong Wang, joined Meta's AI and robotics efforts. Meta said ARI's technology is designed to help robots understand, predict and adapt to human behaviour in complex and dynamic environments.

Apple acquires AI audio startup Q.ai

Apple acquired Israeli startup Q.ai, a company developing artificial intelligence technology for audio applications. While Apple did not disclose the financial terms, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters the transaction valued Q.ai at about $1.6 billion. The startup has worked on machine learning technologies that help devices understand whispered speech and improve audio performance in challenging environments. Q.ai's approximately 100 employees, including Chief Executive Officer Aviad Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya, will join Apple as part of the acquisition.

Accenture completes acquisition of AI firm Faculty

Accenture completed its acquisition of UK-based artificial intelligence company Faculty in March, bringing the firm's applied AI expertise and decision intelligence platform into its portfolio. Faculty is known for developing AI solutions across public and private sectors, and Accenture said the acquisition would help expand its ability to deliver AI-led business transformation and decision-making tools to clients. Faculty co-founder Marc Warner also joined Accenture as Chief Technology Officer.

American Express acquires Hyper

American Express agreed to acquire Hyper, an AI-powered expense management startup backed by OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman. Founded in 2022, Hyper develops AI agents that automate expense reporting, categorization, compliance checks and approvals. American Express said the acquisition would add AI expertise and strengthen its commercial services offerings as businesses increasingly adopt AI-driven automation tools.

Salesforce adds AI commerce specialist Cimulate

Salesforce completed the acquisition of Cimulate in March after signing a definitive agreement earlier in the year. Cimulate develops AI-powered product discovery and agentic commerce technology for retailers. Salesforce said the deal would strengthen its Agentforce Commerce platform by improving how shoppers search, discover and evaluate products through more contextual and intent-driven experiences.

Cognizant acquires Astreya for about $600 million

Cognizant agreed to acquire Astreya, an IT services and technology provider specializing in AI infrastructure and data center operations, in a transaction valued at around $600 million. The acquisition is aimed at expanding Cognizant's AI infrastructure capabilities and helping enterprise clients build, deploy and scale AI systems. Astreya's AI operations platform and expertise in AI infrastructure are expected to strengthen Cognizant's AI-focused services portfolio.

ServiceNow builds on AI strategy with Moveworks

ServiceNow integrated enterprise AI company Moveworks into its business after completing the acquisition, a deal originally announced at $2.85 billion. Moveworks brings conversational AI, enterprise search and reasoning capabilities that ServiceNow plans to combine with its workflow automation and agentic AI offerings. The company has described the acquisition as part of its broader effort to expand AI-powered business transformation tools for enterprises.