Apple management is considering the acquisition of Perplexity AI both to gain more talent and to offer an AI-based search engine in the future, Bloomberg reports. Adrian Perica, Apple’s head of M&A, has reportedly already discussed this idea with Vice President of Services Eddy Cue and top managers of the company who make decisions on working with artificial intelligence. However, these are only early stages: Apple has not yet discussed a purchase offer with Perplexity, and internal talks may not even lead to a formal offer.
Executives have also reportedly discussed an alternative option where, instead of buying Perplexity outright, they would team up with an AI company. Either way, the idea is to develop an AI search engine based on Perplexity and integrate Perplexity’s technology into Siri. Although Apple has not yet made an official offer, Bloomberg reports that it has met with Perplexity several times over the past few months.
In May, Cue reported that Apple had discussed possible Safari integration with Perplexity while testifying in Google’s antitrust case over the search engine. Cue appeared in court because of Apple’s long-standing agreement with Google that its search engine will be used on iPhones by default. (In turn, Apple receives billions of dollars a year – $18 billion in 2021 – from this agreement.) However, Cue did not share any final plans, including the possibility of a takeover.
If regulators order Apple to end its partnership with Google, the acquisition of Perplexity would make it easier for the company to develop an AI-based search engine. In addition, it would allow the company to acquire the talent needed to catch up with other companies when it comes to artificial intelligence. Apple, like Meta, is looking for new AI talent. Bloomberg reports that the company is even competing with the Facebook owner to hire Daniel Gross, the founder of AI company Safe Superintelligence Inc. It seems that the company really needs help to be able to release the AI features it wants to provide to its users. A few months ago, for example, Apple postponed the launch of a more powerful Siri, which was a key component of the initial presentation of Apple Intelligence.
