Apple purchased Palo Alto Semi which made the biggest difference. One of their best acquisitions ever in my opinion… not that they make all that many of those anyway.
NeXT? But yes, I completely get what you’re saying, I just couldn’t resist. It was an amazingly long sighted strategic move, for sure.
Craig Federighi is a notable NeXT alum. And... I think he might be the only one left in leadership.
NeXT was a comparatively small company compared to Apple.