Apple secretly met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk; also working on tech to predict heart attacks
Apple over the past 18 months has been in aggressive pursuit of new technologies in potential growth markets that have reportedly seen the company orchestrate closed-door meetings with the nation's top electric car manufacturer while also trying its hand at developing technology that could help predict heart attacks.
In a profile of Apple's mergers and acquisitions chief, Adrian Perica, and the company's 18-month acquisition spree, the San Francisco Cronical cites sources as saying that Perica met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cupertino last spring around the same time that German analyst Adnaan Ahmad caused a stir by penning an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook that suggested he look into purchasing the electric automotive startup.
"I know this is radical and potentially 'transformative' but this would radically alter Apple's growth profile," Ahmad wrote at the time. "In Elon Musk, you could strike up a partnership and obtain a new iconic partner to lead Apple's innovation?drive."
It appears that Apple may have been a step ahead in the same direction:
This push has reportedly been led by Tomlinson Holman -- a renowned audio engineer who invented THX and 10.2 surround sound -- that Apple hired in 2011 to "provide audio direction."
In a profile of Apple's mergers and acquisitions chief, Adrian Perica, and the company's 18-month acquisition spree, the San Francisco Cronical cites sources as saying that Perica met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cupertino last spring around the same time that German analyst Adnaan Ahmad caused a stir by penning an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook that suggested he look into purchasing the electric automotive startup.
"I know this is radical and potentially 'transformative' but this would radically alter Apple's growth profile," Ahmad wrote at the time. "In Elon Musk, you could strike up a partnership and obtain a new iconic partner to lead Apple's innovation?drive."
It appears that Apple may have been a step ahead in the same direction:
Separately, the newspaper also claims to have discovered that Apple is heavily exploring medical devices, specifically sensor technology that can help predict heart attacks by studying the sound blood makes at it flows through?arteries.Six months before Ahmad's letter, Musk met with Perica and probably Cook at Apple headquarters, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect business relationships. While a megadeal has yet to emerge (for all of its cash, Apple still plays hardball on valuation), such a high-level meeting between the two Silicon Valley giants involving their top dealmakers suggests Apple was very much interested in buying the electric car?pioneer.
This push has reportedly been led by Tomlinson Holman -- a renowned audio engineer who invented THX and 10.2 surround sound -- that Apple hired in 2011 to "provide audio direction."
Apple's interest in exploring opportunities in both the automotive and healthcare industries is believed to be part of a broader effort to re-ignite growth beyond the vision of late co-founder Steve Jobs.Holman's role in Apple's medical ambitions is particularly intriguing because of his pioneering audio work in movies. As corporate technical director at Lucasfilm, Holman developed revolutionary THX technology that consistently reproduces high-quality sound in movie theaters and homes that most closely matches the original audio mix of?films.
...
But under Holman, Apple is exploring ways to measure noise "turbulence" as it applies to blood flow. The company wants to develop software and sensors that can predict heart attacks by identifying the sound blood makes as it tries to move through an artery clogged with plaque, the source?said.
Comments
GOAL TO PREVENT OR QUICKLY ADDRESS HEART ATTACKS
THIS IS A M A Z I N G DIRECTION - JOBS WOULD BE PROUD
MOST IMPORTANTLY - APPLE IS ON THE CUTTING EDGE CLEARLY - ALL OF THE "JUNK" COPYCATS ARE TOAST
APPLE DESERVES A MULTIPLE OF ABOUT 17 BASED ON THE INNOVATION AND PRODUCTS FORTHCOMING - FUTURE MUCH MORE VISIBLE - I EXPECT THAT WE WILL MOVE TO 15 MULTIPLE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AS THE "REPORTERS" CATCH UP TO WHAT WE SEE NOW
As a Model S owner for slightly over a year I'd love to see Apple and Tesla work together in some capacity. The Model S is very Apple like in it's design and Tesla already has several ex-Apple employees anyways.
Whatever Apple does, however it becomes involved with Tesla which would in my opinion be a very good move, Musk's fundamental involvement must be maintained. A partnership would be more productive than outright purchase. Tesla and Apple have very similar synergies and at some level would be a great fit. An aside, while I'd be more than happy to own a Model S, I think that the dashboard could use a little Apple redesign. (Guess I'm a fan of Musk, he is a genius though.)
Do these idiots not know how Apple operates? I would imagine that Apple would have pushed for a strategic partnership, but it's not Apple's style to buy a company as a way of jumpstarting a new product category. That's Google's game.
A paper released not long ago (last year, year before - I'd have to search for it again if someone asked for a link) suggested that differential blood pressure, that is, the difference between blood pressure measured in two arms might be a much better predictor of heart condition than measurements made in a single limb. Might be oversimplifying to say, 'the greater the differential, the greater the risk', however, that was probably the thrust of the paper. The idea of using audio is simply fascinating though (to the uninitiated - me lol).
And, these 2 idiots
are working as hard to buy other companies
but still no clue what the f**k they should do with them ....
Hi. I would like to buy the new iPhone. "Yes Sir - would that be with or without the Tesla " ?
Sounds like a fit to me, and don't ever underestimate the vision(s) of Jobs and now Cook. I am sure their joint visions will have a major impact on the future of Apple. And getting Musk included would certainly be beneficial.
While the technology advances at Tesla are very interesting, they are never going to be a mass-market producer and the Market expects Apple to be a mass-market producer (for better or worse). Tesla is more like Next - very high end, very esoteric, very expensive and few bought it.
I think if Apple bought Tesla, it would sink Apple's stock, in spite of the current hype over Tesla's stock. (Or maybe I'm just envious because I'm never going to be able to afford a Tesla car and even if I did, have no place to recharge it anyway.)
On the other hand, although medical devices are also somewhat of a niche market (depending upon the device), I think that if Apple can get involved in this area in a sophisticated way (more than that accessory you stick into a Nike shoe), that's something that can pull Apple far away from Android and the other competitors. But it has to be far more than predicting heart attacks because the primary market, relatively young people, don't think they're ever going to have a heart attack. (A herpes sensor might be a great idea, though!)
I'm very interested in anything Tom Holman brings to the table. I still have a 35 year-old Apt-Holman preamp and it still sounds better than any reasonably priced audio device out there today. In some ways, it's very Apple-like: a very sophisticated device that's very easy to use, but with even more flexibility than Apple normally builds into its products. I'd love to see Holman working on ways to make the audio in Apple's devices sound much better - I think that's an area that's been ignored the last few years and again, it would give Apple a competitive advantage. And if Apple is working on a television, Holman should design the audio capabilities.
WORKING CLOSELY WITH MUSK =
GOAL TO PREVENT OR QUICKLY ADDRESS HEART ATTACKS
THIS IS A M A Z I N G DIRECTION - JOBS WOULD BE PROUD
MOST IMPORTANTLY - APPLE IS ON THE CUTTING EDGE CLEARLY - ALL OF THE "JUNK" COPYCATS ARE TOAST
APPLE DESERVES A MULTIPLE OF ABOUT 17 BASED ON THE INNOVATION AND PRODUCTS FORTHCOMING - FUTURE MUCH MORE VISIBLE - I EXPECT THAT WE WILL MOVE TO 15 MULTIPLE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AS THE "REPORTERS" CATCH UP TO WHAT WE SEE NOW
You're a lawyer?
Despite its Android-based UI, there are clearly some Apple employees -- I am guessing senior management, since those seemed like prime parking slots -- that like the car.
/s
Yes, but compatible with Chrome, Android apps, and soon to have an Android emulator: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/22/tesla-model-s-to-get-app-support-and-chrome/
Yeah, here we go - a very L Ellison sounding quote -- Musk believes in the founder theory and Apple is done without Jobs... I hope Jobs biggest invention, Apple, lasts a long, long time.
"...saying that Apple will likely lose out to Google in the smartphone business "because (former Apple CEO Steve) Jobs is out of the picture."
He added that "it really makes a difference who runs the company. (Google CEO) Larry Page is quite good and probably in the long run will come out on top." - E Musk
You're a lawyer?
Careful, you're getting close to libel. :-)
...Apple hired in 2011 to "provide audio direction."
I know the newspaper is moving forward with rumors about heart attack predictions, but it is the most incredible rumor NOT dealing with actual products (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV) nor dealing with rumored products (iWatch, TV) because it would be a MAJOR change in direction for Apple that could open new categories for the company!
On the Tomlinson Holman front, talk about using the man's audio background for something new. Monitoring the sound of blood flow! ABSOLUTELY ingenious!!
I suspect market manipulation, because it doesn't suggest that at all, even if the meetings were actually proved to have happened.
Btw, heart disease, strokes and aneurysms may be caused by a lack of vitamin C. No joke. This is according to the only person to have won 2 unshared nobel prizes, Linus Pauling. After investigating this for some time and looking through years of research on the benefits of vitamin C Pauling theorised that it was actually a lack of L-ascorbic acid (otherwise known as vitamin C) in the body which caused the initial 'cut' to form inside the artery. And then subsequently it's just a matter of time while the body deliberate adds plaque to the injured area in an attempt to 'fix' the problem. The body mistakingly uses plaque to patch up the problem because it lacks the collagen to heal the tissue weakness. Guess what acid is used to make collagen? It's a very simple theory, and I'm going on the assumption that in the years to come it will be proven correct. Collagen strengthens skin, veins, arteries and other parts of the body. It's worth looking into.
I'm content with the design of the dashboard, and that's coming from an avid iPad & iPhone user. The thing I'd like to see most is greater integration with Apple or Google maps and deeper integration when Slacker or another streaming music service.
I'm sure those updates will be coming soon. I love getting new firmware updates and new features in my car just like we do with our iPads and iPhones.