Apple (AAPL.O) executives have held early internal discussions about possibly bidding for artificial intelligence startup Perplexity, according to a Bloomberg News report on Friday citing sources familiar with the matter. However, the talks are in preliminary stages and may not result in an offer, with no direct communication reported between Apple and Perplexity management.
Perplexity stated it has no knowledge of any current or future merger and acquisition discussions involving the company. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This potential move aligns with a broader trend of major tech companies ramping up investments in AI technologies to strengthen their competitive edge amid growing demand for AI-powered services. Bloomberg also reported that Meta Platforms (META.O) had attempted to acquire Perplexity earlier this year. Meta recently announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead a new superintelligence division.
Apple’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has reportedly discussed the possibility with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI leaders. The company aims to integrate AI-driven search functionalities, like those from Perplexity AI, into its Safari browser, which could reduce its reliance on Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google — a longtime default search partner.
This shift comes amid ongoing U.S. Department of Justice efforts to limit Google’s dominance in online search, including proposals to ban payments that secure default search engine status. While traditional search engines like Google remain dominant globally, AI-powered search tools such as Perplexity and ChatGPT are gaining traction, particularly among younger users.
Perplexity recently completed a funding round valuing the startup at $14 billion, making any acquisition deal at that scale potentially Apple’s largest to date. The Nvidia-backed company offers AI search services that provide users with summarized information, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.