Apple to Invest $500 Million in Rare Earths Mine Operator MP Materials
According to reports, Apple Inc. plans to invest $500 million in MP Materials, which runs the country's sole rare earth mine.
The statement comes after MP Materials and the US government recently reached a multibillion-dollar deal to boost local manufacturing of rare earth magnets, which are essential for electronics, electric vehicles, and defense applications.
Following the announcement, MP Materials' stock rose more than 12 percent in early trading. Apple is planning to buy American-made rare earth magnets from MP's Texas facility as part of the agreement; commercial magnet production is slated to start by the end of the year.
Additionally, plans include constructing a recycling facility at MP's Mountain Pass location in California as well as a new magnet production in Fort Worth, Texas.
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In order to combat the low pricing brought on by China's dominant market position, the US Department of Defense and MP have agreed to a price floor for rare earth minerals. This will incentivize investment in domestic mining and processing.
Key rare earths have a guaranteed price that is almost twice as high as the going rate.
Additionally, Apple will give purchasing the French AI startup Mistral considerable consideration.
Through seven funding rounds, Mistral has raised €1.1 billion, or roughly $1.2 billion. The business raised €600 million (about $660 million) in its Series B investment last June, with DST Global and General Catalyst leading the charge.
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The business is negotiating "hundreds of millions of euros in debt" from lenders in addition to equity financing.
Mistral has introduced several large and small language models throughout the years, and its optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities have shown remarkable success. Furthermore, their chatbot, "Le Chat," is renowned for responding to consumer inquiries promptly. It is presently the largest AI startup in Europe, with a valuation of €5.8 billion, or roughly $6.2 billion.
After two years of criticism and consumer discontent, Apple's AI ecosystem will receive a much-needed boost with the acquisition of an AI start-up.
The organization has also seen changes in its leadership and talent. The manager of Apple's fundamental models team, Ruoming Pang, a "distinguished engineer," recently left to join Meta after allegedly receiving an annual compensation package worth tens of millions of dollars.