Apple executives have held internal discussions about potentially bidding for AI startup Perplexity

Apple is looking for ways to prepare for an AI future without Google search. Now it's eyeing startup Perplexity. Meta already tried and struck out.

Apple executives have been talking internally about potentially buying AI startup Perplexity AI, according to a Bloomberg report. The idea is to grab both the technology and talent for Apple's own search solution. Adrian Perica, who runs the M&A department, along with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI decision-makers at the company, have been part of these confidential discussions.

So far, Apple hasn't reached out to Perplexity's management, according to reports. Apple isn't commenting on the speculation. Perplexity says it doesn't know about any current or future M&A discussions involving Perplexity.

Apple, Google and the $20 billion deal

What's driving Apple's thinking is the possible end of its massive search engine deal with Google. Google pays Apple around $20 billion per year to be the default search engine on Apple devices.

The deal is caught up in ongoing antitrust proceedings in the US. If the agreement gets thrown out, Apple would need to pivot to alternative search technologies fast. This isn't really about the tech itself - Apple could easily switch to Bing or other search engines, or just let users pick.

What Apple really needs to focus on is building its own AI-powered search solution as a new revenue stream. The company would need to figure out how to replace that $20 billion through its own search advertising.

Apple's Eddy Cue recently testified in this antitrust case that Apple saw a decline in Safari search queries for the first time - something Cue blamed on people increasingly turning to AI services like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, Anthropic, Deepseek and Grok. According to Cue, the potential for Google alternatives has grown significantly.

It's possible that Cue's statements and the takeover rumors are strategically timed to strengthen Google's position in the ongoing proceedings. Google has already been found to be a monopolist, but negotiations over what happens next are still going on.

If the court allows the deal to continue, this would work in Apple's favor - the $20 billion from Google is practically pure profit. Bloomberg says Apple would probably only get serious about talks with Perplexity if the court actually kills the Google deal.

Meta also wanted to buy Perplexity

Meta had already taken a shot at buying Perplexity before Apple started having these internal conversations - and came up empty. According to Bloomberg, the two sides couldn't agree on terms.

Meta also reportedly tried and failed to poach Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas for its own "Superintelligence" team. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also got turned down by ex-OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever when he tried to buy Sutskever's startup Safe Super Intelligence.

Instead, Meta threw around $14.3 billion at data annotation company Scale AI and grabbed a 49% stake in the company. Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang is now spearheading the new Superintelligence team.