With a market value of $ 725bn , Apple tops Forbes ’ list of the most valuable tech companies in the world . Founded by Steve Jobs in 1976 and headquartered in California , the company currently has 498 retail stores across the globe and employs a total of 116,000 people . Involved in the design , manufacture and marketing of mobiles , media devices , computers and music players as well as related software , services , accessories and networking solutions , across the Americas , Europe , Greater China , Japan and “ Rest of Asia Pacific ”. Last year it made sales of $ 217bn with a profit of $ 45.2bn with assets of $ 331.1bn . Recently , Apple acquired artificial intelligence related businesses such as Regaind , Lattice Data and init . ai .

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