Tech

Chamath Palihapitiya: Apple is 'no different than Louis Vuitton or any other luxury good'

Key Points
  • Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya doesn't seem impressed with how Apple is spending its growing pile of cash.
  • The often outspoken investor said Apple is in transition and quickly becoming a software and luxury good business.
  • He said Apple needs to figure out how to spend its cash in a way that's not leaving it in Ireland, which he said is "all they've done" so far.
Chamath Palihapitiya: Apple is 'no different than Louis Vuitton or any other luxury good'
VIDEO2:5802:58
Chamath Palihapitiya: Apple is 'no different than Louis Vuitton or any other luxury good'

Apple has an ever-growing pile of cash on its hands, and Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya doesn't seem impressed with how the company is spending it.

"They've spent more on their building quite honestly than they have on any sort of major feature or product launch," Palihapitiya told CNBC's "Squawk Box" Tuesday.

The often outspoken investor said Apple is in transition and quickly becoming a software and luxury good business — rather than the hardware company it was under founder Steve Jobs.

"When you take a step back and actually look at that phone and compare it to a [Google] Pixel or the next generation Samsung, what you see is frankly the same product," Palihapitiya said. "What it has is brand. It has a sense of differentiation, and that's no different than Louis Vuitton or any other luxury good."

Palihapitiya suggested Apple use its cash hoards to purchase businesses like Tesla or Netflix, but was skeptical that would ever happen.

He said Apple needs to figure out how to spend its cash in a way that's not leaving it in Ireland, which he said is "all they've done" so far.