Apple To Create $1B Advanced Manufacturing Investment Fund

Apple is gearing up to create a $1 billion investment focused on U.S. companies in the advanced manufacturing space.

According to a report in Reuters, citing comments Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook made during an interview in CNBC, the fund’s first investment will be announced later in May, and the company is also looking to invest in programs that could teach consumers how to write computer code to create apps.

The two announcements via the CNBC interview were designed to show how Apple is contributing to job creation in the U.S. It’s particularly important in the current political environment, where President Donald Trump is focused on creating jobs in the U.S. and is highlighting the companies that are doing so. Apple is also trying to play nice with the White House given the fact that Apple came under attack from Trump during the run-up to the election because most of its products are manufactured in China.

The report noted that in February Cook said during Apple’s annual shareholder meeting that it spent $50 billion last year with its suppliers based in the U.S., including 3M and Corning. Cook said during the CNBC interview that it has already created two million U.S. jobs, with 80,000 of them at Apple and the rest from suppliers and software developers that create apps for the Apple app ecosystem.

The job comments come as lawmakers in the U.S. are mulling a tax overhaul put forth by President Trump that would enable Apple and other big U.S. companies to bring back the profits they made overseas at a lower tax rate. The report noted that the majority of Apple’s cash, which stands at $256.8 billion, is held outside the U.S. Cook noted Apple would need to borrow money for the manufacturing investment fund and that he is hopeful Trump will address repatriation.