According to sources cited by Bloomberg, Apple’s management has held internal discussions about acquiring Perplexity, an AI-powered search startup. However, these talks do not guarantee a deal will be made. Such an acquisition could provide Apple with additional support in case it loses its partnership with Google. Notably, in April 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice demanded that Google terminate agreements with other companies that make Google the default search engine on smartphones and other devices.
Perplexity’s leadership has stated that they are unaware of any merger or acquisition talks involving the startup. Apple declined to comment on the matter.
At the same time, according to CNBC, Meta also considered acquiring Perplexity but the parties did not reach an agreement. Reports from The Verge and CNBC indicate that Meta also showed interest in acquiring Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and Safe Superintelligence, co-founded by OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever.
Ultimately, Bloomberg reports that Meta invested $14.3 billion in AI startup Scale AI, acquiring a 49% stake in the company. As part of the deal, Scale AI’s co-founder and CEO Alexander Wang joined Meta’s team. However, media reports suggest that some of Scale AI’s clients are considering ending their partnerships with the startup following the investment.
