Is Perplexity becoming the new OpenAI? Why are Meta and Apple desperate to buy it

Perplexity AI: In the rapidly growing world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a new company has caught everyone's attention - Perplexity AI. This San Francisco-based startup company was started in 2022.

Perplexity AI: In the rapidly growing world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a new company has caught everyone's attention - Perplexity AI. This San Francisco-based startup company was started in 2022 and now it has started playing a role like OpenAI in search technology. According to reports, both tech giants Meta and Apple are planning to buy this company, although no deal has been confirmed yet.

What is Perplexity and why is it special?

Perplexity is no ordinary chatbot. It is a conversational search engine that answers users directly and with sources without any ads or scrolling. It is becoming increasingly popular and handles around 780 million search queries every month. Its monthly growth rate is 20%. Recently it has also launched an AI browser assistant named Comet, which helps users in tasks like online shopping, web page summary and email management.

 

 

Why is Apple showing interest?

While AI is being discussed everywhere, Apple's WWDC 2025 event remained silent on AI features. Siri, which was once considered a frontrunner, is now likely to see its next update by 2026. Also, Apple's multi-billion dollar deal to keep Google search as the default in Safari is now under legal scrutiny.

In such a situation, the acquisition of Perplexity can prove to be a game-changer for Apple. This will give Apple the opportunity to create its own AI-based search engine, which can be directly integrated into Safari or Siri. Bloomberg's report states that Apple's senior officials Eddie Cue and Adrian Perica have held serious talks about this deal. If this deal happens, it will be the biggest purchase in Apple's history.

Why is Meta eyeing Perplexity?

Meta is already deeply integrating AI into platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company recently invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI, and is believed to have previously held talks with Perplexity. Meta's LLaMA 4 model has received mixed reviews so far, and the company is also making changes internally. In such a situation, buying Perplexity could be a quick way for Meta to strengthen its hold in AI.