Apple Could Buy This AI Startup for $30 Billion to Catch Up in AI & Save Siri

Apple is reportedly considering its boldest move yet in artificial intelligence: the acquisition of Perplexity AI, a fast-growing AI search startup recently valued at $14 billion. If successful, the deal could become Apple’s largest acquisition in history, far surpassing its $3 billion purchase of Beats in 2014. With Apple’s stock down nearly 20% year-to-date in 2025 and criticism mounting over its sluggish AI rollout, this could mark a pivotal moment in Cupertino’s long-term strategy.

According to Bloomberg, Apple’s head of M&A, Adrian Perica, and services chief Eddy Cue are leading internal discussions about a potential acquisition. While no formal offer has been made to Perplexity’s management, and talks remain preliminary, the move reflects Apple’s recognition that generative AI is not just a trend—it’s a platform shift.

Why Perplexity?

Perplexity AI launched in late 2022 and has quickly gained recognition as a promising alternative to traditional search engines. Unlike Google, which returns a list of links, Perplexity delivers citation-backed answers generated using multiple large language models (LLMs). It blends retrieval-augmented generation with real-time web crawling to provide direct, trustworthy responses.

The service supports both quick search and a more advanced “Pro” mode, offering detailed insights for complex queries. It also includes tools for document analysis, image generation, playlist creation, and AI-powered browsing. These features are increasingly popular among users dissatisfied with traditional search.

Perplexity has seen impressive growth: as of May 2025, it was handling 780 million monthly queries, growing at 20% month-over-month. Despite being a relative newcomer, the company is already generating around $100 million in annual recurring revenue, up from $50 million in late 2024.

Apple’s AI Orchestration Vision

Apple is not merely buying another chatbot. The company is reportedly building an “AI orchestration layer”—a system that can intelligently route user queries to the most suitable model or service depending on the task. This could allow Siri, Safari, or other Apple apps to combine strengths from ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Apple’s own models into one seamless user experience.

For example, a query like “Should I invest in Apple stock?” could be split as follows:

• Perplexity pulls in live market data and analyst views.
• ChatGPT explains investing principles and risks.
• Apple Intelligence tailors the response to the user’s context.

Apple has already partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18, and is said to be in discussions with Anthropic about adding Claude as another model option. But while partnerships provide flexibility, an owned asset like Perplexity would bring more control, integration, and cost efficiency.

The Strategic Case

Apple’s interest in Perplexity is also motivated by strategic urgency. Its $20 billion-per-year deal with Google, which makes Google the default Safari search engine, is now under threat from a Department of Justice antitrust case. If regulators block this revenue stream, Apple will need a fallback—and fast.

Acquiring Perplexity would allow Apple to directly integrate AI-native search into Safari and Siri, reducing reliance on Google and potentially shifting user behavior back into Apple’s ecosystem. This aligns with recent testimony from Eddy Cue, who admitted that Safari search traffic has been declining, as users migrate toward AI-first tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

More importantly, Perplexity could become a new profit center for Apple. The company’s current services business is built on subscriptions, and Perplexity’s paid Pro plan fits that mold:

• If 30% of Apple’s 2.2 billion devices subscribed at $15–20/month, Apple could generate $2.4–3.2 billion annually in consumer revenue.
• The enterprise opportunity is even larger. Legal and financial firms pay a premium for high-quality research tools: Microsoft Copilot starts at $30 per user/month, Lexis+ and Bloomberg Law range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per user per year.

In short, Perplexity is more than a defensive play—it could unlock entirely new growth engines within Apple’s high-margin services division while positioning the company for long-term AI leadership.

Financials and Feasibility

The rumored acquisition price of $25–30 billion would represent more than a 2x premium over Perplexity’s last valuation. For context, ChatGPT is currently valued at over $300 billion, and Claude at around $61.5 billion, making full acquisitions impractical.

Apple has more than $160 billion in cash and equivalents. It recently authorized a record $100 billion stock buyback, showing it has financial flexibility. Redirecting a portion of that cash to secure a high-leverage asset like Perplexity would be a strategic pivot rather than a fiscal constraint.

The business case is compelling: even with modest growth, Apple could recoup its investment within a decade. With acceleration from bundling, device pre-installation, and Apple Pay integration, the payback window could shrink to 5–7 years.

Risks and Roadblocks

Still, the acquisition isn’t without hurdles.

• Integration timeline: Siri’s overhaul is already delayed until 2026. Adding Perplexity could slow things further.
• Legal scrutiny: Perplexity has been accused of plagiarism, including scraping paywalled content from outlets like the BBC and Dow Jones. These issues could follow Apple.
• Regulatory attention: A $30 billion buy in search and AI will attract antitrust oversight, though Apple can argue its search share is negligible.
• Brand risks: Apple promotes privacy and user trust. If Perplexity is used for ad targeting or personal data processing, it may conflict with that narrative.

The bigger risk may be inaction. Samsung has already begun embedding Perplexity in its Galaxy S26 line and browser. Meta also reportedly made an acquisition attempt. If Apple waits too long, it risks losing the most acquisition-friendly AI search engine on the market.

Reflexiones finales

Perplexity offers Apple more than a product—it offers an architectural foundation for AI-native interaction. While some Redditors dismiss it as a “wrapper”, others recognize that in an age of commoditized LLMs, the interface and routing layer matter most.

Whether Apple moves forward with the acquisition or not, one thing is clear: search is changing, and the next user interface war will be fought with AI. With Safari, Siri, and the entire Apple ecosystem at stake, acquiring Perplexity may be the company’s best chance to lead rather than follow.