Apple in talks to buy Perplexity AI

They need all the help they can get for AI now.

According to tech news website, Engadget, Apple is reportedly interested in purchasing AI giant, Perplexity. Head of Apple Mergers, Adrian Perica, has talked to Eddy Cue about how it could integrate with Apple's current products and if they could offer an AI powered search engine in the future. However, it is still in the early stages and they have not talked to Perplexity about a bid or a final offer yet.

This doesn't mean the deal won't happen, but it signals the caution that they are taking in the situation. They have also discussed whether, instead of purchasing the company, they partner together to still build the search engine and develop Siri further. Bloomberg has also reported that Apple has met with Perplexity recently about this idea.

The fact that Apple is taking this approach to AI signals a positive trend in AI with them. It seems as though, according to how the rollout of Apple Intelligence and the lawsuit currently ensuing, Apple was not ready to release this into the public and were a bit too confident. While yes, they did bring in ChatGPT and OpenAI to aid them in the process, ChatGPT seems like just a coverup for the mess of Siri. It is still helpful, but a full Perplexity AI integration would be much better.

Distancing themselves from the way that other companies have been creating the AI features and developing them the Apple way, that is to say, slower and methodically, but often correctly, may result in a better overall experience. This could be what sets Apple Intelligence apart from Gemini and Samsung AI.

We will have to see what Apple does in the next few months.