Apple Unveils $1 Billion Fund for U.S. Advanced Manufacturing

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the formation of $1 billion fund that will invest in U.S. companies in advanced manufacturing areas such as 3D printing, green technology, medical devices, smart infrastructure and other precision technology sectors. The fund could also support “next generation” coders for the exploding app market (Apple App Store sales totaled $28.5 billion in 2016).

Cook noted that the fund will also help spur job growth in the U.S. The company claims it is responsible, both directly and indirectly, for 2 million jobs here – 80,000 of whom are Apple employees. This announcement comes on the heels of President Trump pushing for more U.S.-based manufacturing, particularly in the tech sector.

The fund will be financed from Apple’s U.S. operations. Cook stated that Apple actually borrows to fund domestic operations because it has $239 billion parked overseas as a tax strategy. That amounts to 93% of all its cash reserves. Cook is hoping the president follows through on his pledge to implement some sort of tax holiday that will allow companies to repatriate money back to the U.S. at a much lower tax rate than the current 35%.  

Apple recently gave a mixed report on quarterly earnings with lower-than-projected iPhone and iPad sales but better-than-expected service revenue.

Apple will announce the fund’s first investment later this May or in June.