What's Next For Apple — Chamath Palihapitiya Fires Back: 'Don't Think They Have Any Chance Of Anything,'

Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya has delivered a scathing critique of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) innovation prospects during an episode of the All-In podcast, bluntly stating the tech giant has no "chance of anything" when it comes to future breakthroughs.

What Happened: During a discussion on the All-In podcast last week, Jason Calacanis asked the panel what Apple could pursue next — AI, wearables, smart glasses, or something unexpected.

Chamath Palihapitiya didn't mince words. "I don't think they have any chance of anything," he replied flatly.

He pointed to a revenue chart showing Apple's heavy dependence on iPhone sales and accused the company of relying on minor product updates — such as changing charging cables — to generate incremental revenue.

"A company that focuses on this kind of revenue growth is not capable of creating something that’s exceptionally unexpected," Chamath said. "That will come from a new company, who has no ties to the past, has no nostalgia, on the fact that we’re gonna swap out the connector type and book another billion dollars."

He added that internal culture at Apple, where even AirPods revenue dwarfs OpenAI, likely leads to dismissive attitudes that stifle bold new ideas.

Thomas Laffont, co-founder of Coatue, pushed back slightly, crediting Apple for successfully pivoting from hardware to recurring revenue—but acknowledged that the next transition, likely toward AI, may be far harder.

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Why It's Important: Palihapitiya's comments highlight growing skepticism about Apple's ability to lead in emerging tech areas like AI and spatial computing, especially in comparison to nimble startups and competitors like Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META).

Apple executives have reportedly held internal discussions about a potential acquisition of Perplexity AI, with M&A chief Adrian Perica raising the idea to senior leaders. However, no direct contact has been made with Perplexity, which said it is unaware of any current or future merger talks.

Last month, it was reported that Apple is planning to launch AI-powered smart glasses in late 2026 to compete with Meta’s Ray-Bans. Apple aims to begin mass-producing prototypes by the end of 2025. The glasses are expected to feature cameras, microphones, and speakers, allowing environmental awareness and voice interaction via Siri.

Apple reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $95.36 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $94.53 billion. iPhone revenue totaled $46.84 billion, up from $45.96 billion in the same quarter last year.

Price Action: Apple shares are down 17.37% year-to-date and have fallen 3.19% over the past 12 months. On Monday, the stock increased 0.25% during regular trading and added another 0.44% after hours, per Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings reflect a continued downward trend for Apple across short, medium and long-term periods. More performance details are available here.