Apple may be gearing up for one of its boldest AI moves yet. According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, executives at Apple Inc. have held early internal discussions about potentially acquiring Perplexity AI, The fast-rising AI-powered search engine startup making waves in the generative AI scene.
The talks, led by Apple’s M&A head Adrian Perica, involve high-ranking execs like services chief Eddy Cue and leaders from Apple’s AI division. While still in the exploratory phase, the potential deal underscores Apple’s pressing need to ramp up AI talent and core tech as rivals like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI accelerate.
There are, however, major hurdles. For starters, Perplexity AI is currently valued at around $14 billion which would make this Apple’s largest-ever acquisition by a wide margin. Complicating matters further, Perplexity is reportedly deep into discussions with Samsung to embed its AI features into Samsung’s ecosystem, a partnership that could either stall or complicate Apple’s ambitions.
When approached for comment, Perplexity denied any knowledge of acquisition talks. But given the pace of AI consolidation and Apple’s comparatively cautious public AI rollout so far, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make a move. Recent announcements at WWDC showed Apple finally leaning into AI features for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, though it still lacks a robust AI-native search platform of its own.
If Apple does pull the trigger, it could reshape the AI search race, pitting Cupertino head-to-head against ChatGPT-powered Bing and Google Gemini. For now, though, the discussions remain behind closed doors.
