Apple’s Billion-Dollar Bet? Rumors Swirl Over Perplexity Acquisition

Apple is reportedly weighing a major move in the artificial intelligence race, holding internal talks about acquiring Perplexity AI, the fast-growing startup known for its conversational search platform. If the deal goes through, it could mark Apple’s largest acquisition to date, with Perplexity recently valued at $14 billion—far surpassing Apple’s $3 billion Beats purchase in 2014.

 

Key Highlights:

 

The discussions, led by Apple’s mergers and acquisitions chief Adrian Perica, services head Eddy Cue, and top AI leadership, are still at an early stage. No formal offer has been made, and Perplexity’s management says they have “no knowledge of any current or future M&A discussions.”

 

Apple’s interest in Perplexity is strategic. The company is under pressure to catch up in the generative AI space, where rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic have already made big strides. Perplexity’s search engine and AI team could give Apple a ready-made platform and talent pool to supercharge its own AI roadmap.

 

The move is also seen as a hedge against Apple’s $20 billion-a-year search deal with Google, which is under threat from US antitrust regulators. If Apple loses Google as the default search engine on Safari, owning Perplexity could give it a powerful alternative for AI-powered search and Siri enhancements.

 

Apple is also considering a partnership or integration, such as adding Perplexity’s AI engine to Safari or using its technology to improve Siri, instead of a full acquisition.

 

There’s a race on: Samsung is reportedly in advanced talks with Perplexity for a deep partnership, which could force Apple’s hand or limit its options if Samsung inks a deal first.

News of Apple’s interest has already rattled the tech world, even pulling down Google’s stock as investors anticipate a shake-up in the search landscape.

 

For now, the talks remain internal and preliminary, but if Apple makes a move, it could reshape the future of AI-powered search and digital assistants.

 

Source: Bloomberg, Reuters, Times of India, Moneycontrol, Indian Express