Apple Executives Are Considering Acquiring Perplexity To Obtain An Advantage In The Generative AI Space, As Its Own Efforts Have Yet To Produce Meaningful Results
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Apple Executives Are Considering Acquiring Perplexity To Obtain An Advantage In The Generative AI Space, As Its Own Efforts Have Yet To Produce Meaningful Results
Apple is reportedly in talks to buy AI startup Perplexity for $14 billion. The talks are in their early stages, meaning there is a possibility they may not mature. If Apple were to buy Perplexities, it would be the company’s most expensive purchase ever. Apple is said to be working with multiple partners to deliver an improved AI experience, hinting that we could witness some kind of partnership in the future. Google’s antitrust trial could end Apple’s $20 billion deal with the search giant, giving Apple motivation to make an acquisition.
Perplexity is valued at $14 billion, and assuming Apple acquires it for the same amount, it would be the company’s most expensive purchase
A report from Bloomberg states that Apple’s services head, Eddy Cue, along with mergers and acquisitions chief Adrian Perica, have been having discussions behind closed doors regarding Perplexity’s acquisition, according to Mark Gurman. The talks are currently in their early stages, meaning that a possibility exists where these discussions may not mature. However, Perplexity has stated that it possesses “no knowledge of any current or future M&A discussions involving Perplexity.”
Assuming that Perplexity rejects any proposal, a team-up with Apple is highly possible, with Safari featuring an integration with the startup’s AI-powered search engine. Extra features can also be paired with Siri, broadening its capabilities, and Apple is said to ship those additions sometime in 2026. One reason why these talks might have been initiated is that the lucrative deal between Google and Apple might end thanks to antitrust watchdogs.
Where the advertising behemoth pays the California-based titan $20 billion annually to keep its search engine the default one, that amount could arrive to a zero, giving Apple sufficient motivation in pursuing an acquisition offer with Perplexity, but it is going to be expensive. Currently, Perplexity is valued at $14 billion, and if Apple were to offer the same amount, it would be the most expensive deal in its history, eclipsing the $3 billion amount paid to acquire Beats in 2014.
According to AppleInsider, talks with Perplexity should not be a surprising move, because during Google’s antitrust trial, Eddy Cue admitted that the company was in talks with Perplexity, with Apple seemingly impressed with what the AI firm has accomplished so far. Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of software engineering, has also stated that the company is working with multiple partners to deliver an improved AI experience, hinting that we could witness some kind of partnership in the future.
News Source: Bloomberg
Source: https://wccftech.com/apple-executives-are-considering-acquiring-perplexity/