APPLE REPORTEDLY WEIGHED ACQUISITIONS OF MISTRAL AND PERPLEXITY AS AI RACE INTENSIFIES

Apple, which has been steadily accelerating its artificial intelligence strategy under the “Apple Intelligence” banner, reportedly held internal discussions about acquiring fast-growing AI startups Mistral and Perplexity.

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While no deals have materialized, the talks highlight Apple's increasing urgency to catch up with rivals like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAl, all of which have staked out major positions in the generative AI market.

For years, Apple approached Al cautiously, focusing on behind-the-scenes features such as on-device machine learning for photos, predictive text, and Siri's limited natural language abilities. That strategy has shifted sharply in 2024 and 2025, with the unveiling of Apple Intelligence at WWDC and a growing emphasis on integrating generative Al into iOS, macOS, and iPadOS.

Even so, Apple remains widely viewed as behind in Al compared to competitors. Microsoft has invested billions into OpenAI, Google continues to deploy Gemini across its ecosystem, and Amazon has backed Anthropic. Acquiring companies like Mistral, known for its open-source models, or Perplexity, an Al-powered search startup, could have given Apple immediate talent, models, and technology to close the gap.

WHY MISTRAL AND PERPLEXITY?