Tim Cook Signals AI Ambitions with M&A Push; Is Perplexity the Missing Spark Apple Needs?

iPhone maker Apple is “significantly growing” its artificial intelligence investments via acquisitions that could speed up its AI roadmap, said CEO Tim Cook during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

While Apple has already acquired nearly seven “small in nature” companies this year, Cook stated that the tech giant is further “very open” to mergers & acquisitions. “We are not stuck on a certain size company,” he said.

The company’s largest deal ever was its purchase of Beats Electronics for $3 billion in 2014, followed by a $1 billion deal to buy a modem chip business from Intel, as per Reuters report.

Currently, Apple is undergoing a major internal shake-up to put artificial intelligence at the forefront, with the CEO revealing that a significant portion of its workforce is being redirected toward developing AI capabilities across the company.

"We see AI as one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime. It will affect all devices in a significant way,” Cook acknowledged. This marks a strategic shift as Apple is facing mounting pressure to catch up with Silicon Valley rivals in the AI race.

It is pertinent to note that Apple has delayed its much-anticipated Siri revamp, which is now scheduled for spring 2026. Still, Cook struck an upbeat tone with investors on the same, saying the company is making “good progress on a more personalised Siri”.

Cook’s remarks indicated Apple’s determination to squeeze the AI gap with tech giants, who have already invested tens of billions in the technology. “We have a great team, and we are putting all of our energy behind it,” he added.

Apple's Possible Perplexity Acquisition

In June, Bloomberg reported that Apple is reportedly eyeing its biggest acquisition ever, a potential deal to acquire fast-rising AI start-up Perplexity. Known for its real-time AI search platform, Perplexity was recently valued at $14 billion.

This price tag is more than four times Apple’s previous $3 billion record deal for Beats in 2014. At that time, the deal was in early stage, and there has been no update on it since then.

The talks included Apple’s M&A head Adrian Perica, services chief Eddy Cue, and key AI leadership. Apple has reportedly held several meetings with Perplexity in recent months and is actively assessing the start-up’s technology.

Apple is eyeing Perplexity to have a ready-made AI search platform and become a recognisable brand in the artificial intelligence space. At present, the tech giant doesn’t have any flagship generative AI product to rival offerings from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

Despite Apple’s growing internal AI efforts, analysts believe that the company lacks urgency and impact compared to rivals. They argue that true progress will require bold external moves—like acquiring Perplexity—and not just in-house work.

Where Is Apple's AI Strategy?

AI is the elephant in the room. While Apple is expanding its AI investments internally, Wedbush Securities said the reality is its not moving the needle and patience is wearing thin among investors. The analyst even asserted that the innovations around AI are not going to come from Apple Park.

Rather, it has to be external partnerships and significant M&A looking ahead, it said. "Apple needs to acquire Perplexity to truly catalyse its AI strategy among other options".

The AI revolution is the biggest technology trend in 40 years and right now Apple is watching this from a park bench drinking lemonade, while every other big tech company is racing ahead like F1 drivers building out its AI strategy and monetization plan," it added.

The analyst also shed light on the big problem for Cook, which could be a black eye moment for Apple and is the major anchor on the ship. It clearly says that the status quo is not working and Apple needs to get off the AI treadmill at 3.0 speed otherwise it will negatively define the future of Cupertino with the best consumer installed base in the world.