Muse Puts Apple's 30% Toll on Notice: Chamath Palihapitiya Sounds Alarm

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya has sounded an alarm on Apple's (AAPL) 30% revenue share in the App Store, citing AI agents like Meta's Muse as a threat to this lucrative business model.

Palihapitiya, co-host of the All-In podcast, believes that AI agents will chip away at the cut taken by the App Store. He points out that if an agent shops and acts on behalf of a user outside of an app, what exactly is Apple taking 30% of?

Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed Palihapitiya's logic, stating that Muse's business model involves taking a small cut of each transaction. This suggests that Meta wants to take its own toll on transactions, just like the App Store.

Apple trades at around 37 times forward earnings, near a five-year high and well above its average. Analysts expect strong earnings growth for Apple, with normalized EPS rising from $7.46 in fiscal 2025 to $10.83 by fiscal 2028. However, Palihapitiya's warning highlights the potential risks facing Apple's business model.