Apple Inc. has reportedly begun internal deliberations over a potential acquisition of AI search startup Perplexity, a company valued at $14 billion following its latest funding round. If the deal were to move forward at that valuation, it would become the largest acquisition in Apple’s history, dwarfing its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics in 2014. According to sources familiar with the matter, the initiative was first floated by Adrian Perica, Apple’s mergers and acquisitions chief, in conversations with senior executives including Eddy Cue, the company’s services head, and key members of Apple’s artificial intelligence team.
While Apple has not yet approached Perplexity’s leadership directly, the early-stage discussions highlight the iPhone maker’s growing urgency to infuse advanced AI-driven search capabilities into its platforms, particularly its Safari web browser and Siri digital assistant. Apple’s interest aligns with broader industry trends where traditional search is being rapidly supplanted by conversational, AI-powered alternatives.
Perplexity’s Appeal: Search Redefined by AI
Perplexity, founded by former OpenAI researchers and engineers, has rapidly gained attention for its AI-native search engine that combines real-time web retrieval with large language models. Rather than providing a list of blue links like traditional search engines, Perplexity delivers concise, sourced answers in a conversational format making it a direct rival to both Google and emerging AI competitors like ChatGPT.
This capability appears to be at the core of Apple’s interest. As AI becomes a fundamental layer across devices and services, Apple is seeking ways to enhance Safari and Siri with more contextual and accurate responses areas where Siri has historically underperformed compared to Google Assistant and Alexa.
Eddy Cue, in testimony during the Google antitrust trial earlier this year, acknowledged that “the industry is shifting away from standard internet searches to AI tools.” He added that Apple had been “impressed with what Perplexity has done,” and had initiated exploratory conversations about its underlying technology.
Meta’s Failed Bid and Pivot to Scale AI
Apple isn’t the only tech titan interested in Perplexity. Meta Platforms previously attempted to acquire the startup but failed to close a deal. In the aftermath, Meta made headlines with its $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, acquiring a 49% stake in the data annotation and AI infrastructure company.
The deal is part of Meta’s effort to build a “superintelligence” team, bringing in Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang as a key figure. In parallel, Meta has been aggressively pursuing Daniel Gross, co-founder of Safe Superintelligence Inc., who has ties to both Apple and AI innovation. Gross sold his previous startup, Cue, to Apple in 2013, and was instrumental in developing early AI features for iOS.
Apple is now reportedly trying to recruit Gross again, hoping his expertise can bolster its internal AI program, currently codenamed “Knowledge.” Led by Robby Walker, a former Siri executive and Gross’s Cue co-founder, the Knowledge project is focused on building a web-trained AI assistant to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
While Apple continues to evaluate a full acquisition, it is also considering less intrusive forms of collaboration. One potential scenario involves offering Perplexity as an optional AI search engine within Safari, much like how Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo are currently integrated. Another possibility would see Perplexity’s backend technology integrated directly into Siri, powering more nuanced and data-rich responses.
Such moves would echo Apple’s historical pattern of absorbing innovative technologies through strategic partnerships and then gradually tightening integration—sometimes culminating in full acquisitions. However, these efforts may face external headwinds.
Samsung Deal Could Derail Apple’s Plans
A critical complication to any Apple Perplexity alliance is the startup’s ongoing partnership talks with Samsung Electronics. The South Korean electronics giant, a major competitor to Apple in the global smartphone market, is reportedly close to announcing an exclusive partnership with Perplexity to integrate AI search into its Galaxy ecosystem.
If finalized, such a deal could limit or outright block Apple’s access to Perplexity’s technology, significantly weakening its position in the rapidly heating AI arms race. A Perplexity spokesperson acknowledged the competitive interest, stating, “It shouldn’t be surprising that top manufacturers want to offer the best search and more accurate AI for their users. That’s Perplexity.”
Compounding the uncertainty around Perplexity’s future is a legal threat from the BBC. The British Broadcasting Corporation has accused the AI firm of illegally scraping and storing vast amounts of its journalistic content to train its language models. In a formal letter addressed to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, the BBC demanded that the company immediately cease accessing its articles, delete any retained data, and propose financial compensation.
The broadcaster warned that failure to comply could result in an injunction and a potential lawsuit for damages, citing that Perplexity’s platform competes directly with BBC services by offering AI summaries of its articles thus diverting user traffic and undermining revenue models.
This legal issue could pose a reputational and regulatory risk for any potential acquirer, including Apple, especially as global scrutiny around AI model training and data usage continues to intensify.
As Apple continues to lag behind in the public AI race dominated by OpenAI, Google, and Meta, the stakes around the Perplexity deal are high. The company’s current AI capabilities, while present across iOS features like image recognition and on-device language processing, have yet to deliver a breakthrough product in the generative AI space.
Acquiring or partnering with Perplexity could offer Apple a fast track to closing that gap, enabling it to integrate advanced search, natural language processing, and real-time data retrieval into both its operating system and digital assistant ecosystem.
However, with Meta doubling down on Scale AI, Samsung edging closer to Perplexity, and regulatory clouds forming, Apple must move decisively if it hopes to remain competitive in what’s becoming the most transformative technological battleground of the decade.
