Apple has always taken its own approach to new technology. The company often chooses to develop its own solutions rather than buy out other companies. However, they seem to be struggling in the AI segment. While the company may be able to catch up, it would take too long. To solve this problem more quickly, Apple is already in discussions about potentially buying two key players in the AI space: Mistral AI and Perplexity .
As the world of artificial intelligence explodes, new reports suggest that Apple might be considering a major shift in its strategy. A series of poor decisions in previous years caused the firm to focus its efforts on very different areas—such as the development of an electric vehicle that never materialized. Meanwhile, names like Google and, especially, OpenAI have been ahead of the curve in AI development for years. Apple’s potential move would seek to address this serious shortcoming in the short term.
Apple could end up buying Perplexity and Mistral AI
This news is particularly interesting because it reportedly pits two of Apple’s most powerful executives against each other. On one side, services chief Eddy Cue is said to be a strong advocate for acquiring these startups. According to The Information’s report , he believes that buying AI companies is the fastest way to bolster Apple’s AI offerings. On the other side, software chief Craig Federighi is reportedly more hesitant . Federighi reportedly thinks that Apple’s internal teams are capable of building the necessary technology themselves.
The two companies in question—Mistral AI and Perplexity—are very different, but both are leaders in their fields. Mistral AI, a Paris-based company, is known for its open-source, powerful language models that are smaller and more efficient than many competitors. This would give Apple a powerful and flexible foundation for its own AI products. Perplexity, on the other hand, has built an AI-powered search engine that provides cited, conversational answers. It could be a direct alternative to Google.
A potential strategic movement
A move to acquire a company like Perplexity could be a strategic one for Apple. Doing so in the midst of the ongoing antitrust discussions regarding its deal with Google to be the default search engine on its devices would be even more important. However, Apple is known for being extremely selective with its acquisitions, especially large ones. The company rarely spends more than a few hundred million dollars on a deal. There have been a few notable exceptions, like the $3 billion purchase of Beats.
For now, it seems Apple has told bankers that it will continue with its strategy of focusing on smaller deals. But with the rapid advancements in AI, the pressure to compete is higher than ever. These discussions show that Apple is at least considering some of its biggest moves yet.
