Apple has internally discussed acquiring Perplexity, an AI startup with a search engine and chatbot used by around 15 million people, says a new report.
The tech titan has been slow to jump on the artificial intelligence trend, and has even gotten flack in recent months for delays to its AI rollout on Siri, in addition to delivering underwhelming Apple Intelligence features.
Apple has a market cap of over $3 trillion. Buying its way out of its AI problem makes a lot of sense.
What to Know About the Potential Acquisition
Apple’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has discussed the possibility of buying Perplexity with top decision makers including services chief Eddy Cue. At least, that’s according to insiders who spoke with Bloomberg, the publication that broke the news.
The discussions, which are “at an early stage,” might not lead to an offer.
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However, there is clear evidence that Apple is eager to develop its own AI-based search engine, which could give its tech devices the layer of AI-powered functionality the company needs to convince consumers that it has its corporate finger on the pulse of modern culture.
Apple’s Biggest Acquisition?
The deal would suddenly look a lot more attractive to Apple if it is forced to end its longstanding relationship with Google’s search engine, in the event of a loss in the Google antitrust trial.
However, a Perplexity acquisition would be a big deal. The AI startup was recently valued at a massive $14 billion. Assuming the deal is anywhere near that number, it would be the biggest in Apple’s history.
In fact, it would more than likely be the biggest by a mile: Apple’s largest acquisition to date was its 2014 purchase of Beats for a relatively paltry $3 billion.
Apple Needs to Catch Up to Meta, Other Tech Giants
Apple’s 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference just wrapped up on June 13. There, the company debuted what Bloomberg terms a “relatively meager slate of new AI enhancements.”
Tech giants are all piling onto the AI hype train. Meta already tried to acquire Perplexity earlier this year, settling instead for a 49% share of Scale AI, which cost the social platform company $14.3 billion.
Samsung already has a partnership in the works with Perplexity, too, potentially complicating an Apple buyout.
However Apple chooses to win over the AI-loving audiences (and shareholders), we can be pretty confident that the company will pay billions to do it.
