What's so special about this AI startup that caught the eye of Meta and Apple?

Perplexity, a nearly three-year-old AI startup, has attracted the attention of Meta and Apple, highlighting the fierce competition in the AI ​​field as tech giants seek to catch up with rivals like Google and OpenAI.

Meta was in talks to acquire Perplexity in late April or early May, according to the people. Bloomberg reported that Apple also discussed acquiring Perplexity internally.

Apple and Meta are seen as lagging in the AI ​​space, while rivals like Google and OpenAI are picking up the pace. The interest from these tech giants underscores the fierce competition for AI talent.

What is Perplexity?

Perplexity is a search engine that uses AI models to analyze web content and synthesize answers. Answers are typically presented in summary form, although Perplexity does provide links to its sources.

The company was founded in August 2022 and launched the first version of the search engine in December of the same year.

Perplexity offers two types of search modes: quick search and pro search. Quick search mode is for general queries, while pro mode will provide more detailed responses that require deeper research. Perplexity's free plan allows users to perform three pro searches per day.

Media reports say Apple and Meta are both interested in buying AI startup Perplexity. Photo: Shutterstock

Perplexity started out as a tool that allowed users to interact with multiple AI models from different companies in a familiar format: a search engine.

But Perplexity can do more than just answer search queries. Users can also ask it questions about files, ask it to handle projects (like creating travel itineraries or music playlists), generate images, and browse curated pages based on topics of interest—similar to ChatGPT and other AI services.

However, many additional features are available as part of a paid plan that costs $20 per month and offers access to more AI models, unlimited file uploads, image creation, and other perks. Perplexity is also developing a web browser called Comet.

Perplexity is popular, but it faces stiff competition, particularly from OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The startup has also been embroiled in one of the biggest controversies surrounding AI: its use of copyrighted content.

Dow Jones and the New York Post are suing the company for using their content without permission, and the BBC is also threatening legal action.

Why do Apple and Meta want to buy Perplexity?

A deal with Perplexity would seem to fit well with Apple or Meta’s AI ambitions. Both companies are integrating AI into their most important products; for Apple, it’s the iPhone, for Meta, it’s apps like Instagram and WhatsApp.

Apple introduced updates to existing AI tools, like translation and custom emoji creation, at its annual developer conference in June.

The company is working on integrating an AI-powered search engine into its Safari web browser, according to Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of software and services.

However, Apple still has a lot of work to do. The improved Siri version does not yet have a release date.

Google is currently paying Apple billions of dollars to be the default search engine in its Safari browser, which is the second most popular web browser after Google's Chrome.

But that deal is now under scrutiny as part of an antitrust lawsuit by the US Department of Justice , meaning Apple may have to think about alternatives.

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A deal with Perplexity, if it materializes, would add momentum to Apple’s existing apps and services while the company continues to develop Siri. The company has partnered with OpenAI and Google for the iPhone’s AI features.

Meanwhile, Meta has been trying to attract top AI talent. According to the WSJ, Meta has offered salary packages of up to $100 million to some people. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that Meta spent $100 million to recruit his employees but was unsuccessful.

Meta also just made a major investment in Scale AI, a startup that provides tools to help companies label the data used to train AI models, at a valuation of more than $29 billion. The company recruited Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as part of the deal.

Despite some success in AI – Llama models are widely used by developers and Ray-Ban AI glasses are relatively popular – Meta is said to be struggling in other areas.

According to the WSJ, parent company Facebook has postponed the launch of its next Llama model, and Meta AI has raised privacy concerns by making users' personal queries public.

Some tech giants are predicting that AI could be a major advancement on par with the internet and smartphones – two advances that Meta and Apple played a major role in shaping.

Whether similar innovations can be made in AI is crucial to the future of both, especially as the technology is expected to change the way people work, communicate and find information.

(According to CNN)

Attracting semiconductor talent, salary alone is not enough . The motivation for semiconductor talent to work in Vietnam comes not only from salary but also from a good living environment so they can 'settle down and work'.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/startup-ai-3-nam-tuoi-co-gi-dac-biet-ma-lot-vao-mat-xanh-cua-meta-apple-2415304.html