The interest from both Silicon Valley giants raises an important question: why are they eyeing a much smaller company like Perplexity?

According to Bloomberg, Apple has held early internal discussions — led by its head of mergers and acquisitions — about a possible acquisition of Perplexity AI, the AI-powered search startup founded by Aravind Srinivas. While no formal offers have been made, top Apple executives have considered multiple scenarios involving the company.

The discussions come amid a broader industry trend of tech firms ramping up investments in AI to gain a competitive edge