Perplexity's screen on the App Store. Photo: Bloomberg . |
According to Bloomberg , senior executives at Apple are discussing the possibility of acquiring Perplexity AI, one of the prominent artificial intelligence startups on the market. This could help strengthen the technology and human resources for the AI department at Apple.
Adrian Perica, Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions, is said to have presented the idea to Eddy Cue, head of services, along with several key figures in the AI department.
The talks are still in their early stages. If the rumors are true, the deal could help Apple gain a competitive edge in AI, as the company faces pressure to fall behind its rivals.
Apple's biggest deal
Perplexity AI works as a search engine, which can provide real-time answers by querying information from the Internet.
If the deal goes through, Apple could potentially develop an AI-based search engine. With Google facing antitrust litigation, Bloomberg suggests that building its own search engine could be a viable option.
“The deal could help Apple develop an AI search engine, part of its response to ending its relationship with Google.
The partnership, which includes making Google the default search engine on hardware devices, brings in about $20 billion a year for Apple. This long-standing relationship is under threat from antitrust authorities in the US,” said analyst Mark Gurman.
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Perplexity's search screen. Photo: How-To Geek . |
Apple has yet to announce its plans to acquire Perplexity. Bloomberg previously reported that Meta had tried to acquire the startup earlier this year but was unsuccessful.
Apple may wait until Google’s antitrust trial is over to decide whether to buy Perplexity or not, and that’s when it will know whether the $20 billion -a-year deal will survive or be terminated.
Perplexity, the startup, just completed a funding round at a valuation of $14 billion . If the deal goes through at around that figure, it would be the largest acquisition in Apple’s history. The current record is the $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014.
After failing to reach a deal with Perplexity, Meta bought a 49% stake in Scale AI for $14.3 billion , part of a plan to create a “superintelligence” AI team, with Scale co-founder Alexandr Wang joining.
Recruiting talent and technology
Talent is also a factor that Meta and Apple focus on. Recently, Meta negotiated to invite Daniel Gross, co-founder of AI company Safe Superintelligence. This is also the person that Apple is eyeing to join the team at the company.
In 2013, Gross sold a startup called Cue to Apple. The deal led to some of the first AI features on iOS. Robby Walker, one of Gross’s co-founders of Cue, still oversees the Siri voice assistant. He also led the development of an AI search engine at Apple, codenamed Knowledge.
The talent hunt is part of Apple’s plan to develop generative AI. Despite being launched a year ago, the Apple Intelligence platform still lags behind its rivals in some key features. A new version of Siri has also been delayed until next year.
At the WWDC 2025 developer conference held in early June, the appearance of AI was quite vague. Some outstanding features such as live translation and image creation using ChatGPT did not impress analysts.
“Acquiring Perplexity could provide Apple with a combination of AI talent, a well-known AI brand, and a consumer product. This could also support the company’s future hiring plans,” Gurman emphasized.
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Apple representative introduces Apple Intelligence improvements at WWDC 2025. Photo: Apple . |
Apple is reportedly discussing a partnership rather than an acquisition of Perplexity, which could see Perplexity become an AI search engine in the Safari browser and integrated into Siri.
According to Bloomberg , Apple has met with Perplexity representatives several times in recent months. The startup's technology is also highly regarded, indicating that Apple wants to establish a close relationship.
The biggest obstacle to Apple’s Perplexity acquisition could come from Samsung, which is expected to announce a partnership with Perplexity. It is also Apple’s biggest rival in the smartphone market, especially as the Galaxy AI feature set continues to expand.
Eddy Cue himself has expressed interest in Perplexity. Testifying at Google’s antitrust trial in May, he told the jury that the industry was shifting from standard internet search to AI engines. Cue even raised the possibility of an AI search engine quickly replacing Google’s current service.
“We were quite impressed with Perplexity's work, and initiated some discussions with them,” Cue said.
Source: https://znews.vn/ke-hoach-lon-tiep-theo-cua-apple-post1562721.html
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