Rumors of Apple considering a Perplexity acquisition refuse to cease. Meanwhile, another AI firm continues to be part of the conversation. Both are mentioned in a new report that paints a picture of Eddy Cue as pro-acquisition despite pushback from other Apple executives.
A new report from The Information details the latest on Apple’s AI acquisition ambitions. The Information reports that Apple is telling bankers that “it’s carrying on with its strategy of focusing on smaller deals in AI,” despite Tim Cook recently teasing out that Apple is “very open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap.”
Still, both Perplexity and French AI firm Mistral remain part of the conversation within Apple, especially as Apple’s Google Search deal is at the mercy of an upcoming court decision.
The Information cites a “person familiar with his thinking” in reporting that Eddy Cue is most vocal about these sorts of big AI acquisitions. The report claims that Cue previously championed two major M&A deals in the past, specifically Netflix and Tesla, but both were shot down by Tim Cook.
Another voice inside the company that is less sold on buying its way out of the AI problem is Craig Federighi. According to the report, Federighi is hesitant on any major AI deal because he believes his team can build their way out of Apple’s AI deficit.
The report goes on to detail how Apple’s acquisition process usually plays out, while noting that the company has a major aversion to overpaying for any company or team.
Neither Perplexity nor Mistral AI are new to this discussion, and the report doesn’t provide an update on the current thinking behind either acquisition. For its part, Perplexity excels at AI search using models provided by companies like OpenAI and others. Mistral AI is viewed as a smaller player in the space with its own models and expertise at developing new systems.
Beyond this report, Apple has recently been said to be holding a competition of sorts between its in-house AI team and third-party model providers when it comes to building the overhauled Siri. Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are reportedly involved.
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