Apple focuses on cars and medical devices

Apple is investigating how it can target cars and medical equipment, writes an American newspaper. The company is considering an acquisition of electric car manufacturer Tesla. Apple is also in talks with the American medicine watchdog.

Adrian Perica, an Apple officer focused on acquisitions, has held talks with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to the San Francisco Chronicle website. Analysts have previously suggested that Apple should take over that company and since competitor Google is in the same industry with its self-driving cars, a takeover of a car manufacturer is not an illogical step.

Apple could also take over Tesla without much pain: the technology manufacturer has 160 billion dollars in cash, converted 116 billion euros. Last Friday, Tesla was worth 24.3 billion dollars on the stock exchange, converted to 17.7 billion euros.

In addition, Apple would be interested in medical equipment. According to the newspaper, this includes equipment that should be able to prevent a heart attack. Tomlinson Holman, who developed THX and 10.2 surround sound, would study at Apple how to measure the turbulence of blood flow. That knowledge could be applied in smart sensors.

In addition, Apple has met with the US Food and Drug Administration, which deals with the authorization of medical applications. According to the newspaper, the meetings were about ‘mobile medical applications’. Apple is also said to have hired doctors as well as lawyers with experience lobbying the FDA. Earlier it appeared that Apple had applied for a patent for a sensor that can unlock a phone based on someone’s heartbeat.

The company Basis Science, which has released a health tracker, is talking to Apple about a potential acquisition, TechCrunch reports. Apple would not be the only interested: Google and possibly also Samsung and Microsoft would be in takeover talks.