Apple Eyes AI Domination: Reportedly in Talks to Acquire Mistral and Perplexity

Tech giant makes power play for artificial intelligence supremacy.

The Acquisition Gambit

Apple's reportedly circling two of AI's hottest startups—Mistral and Perplexity—in what insiders call a strategic move to close the generative AI gap. Neither company confirmed talks, but sources suggest Tim Cook himself greenlit the exploration.

Why These Targets?

Mistral brings European AI credibility and government-friendly models, while Perplexity's search-first approach challenges Google's dominance. Together they'd give Apple instant AI muscle without the decade-long R&D cycle—because why build when you can buy?

The Bottom Line

Another tech giant writing checks instead of doing homework. Wall Street will love the headline boost while engineers face another integration nightmare. Because nothing says innovation like acquiring it at premium valuations.

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Interestingly, there are mixed opinions within Apple about whether it should go bigger. For example, Eddy Cue, a longtime executive and head of services, has been one of the strongest voices pushing for bolder deals. In the past, he pushed for Apple to buy companies like Netflix (NFLX) and Tesla (TSLA) and was behind the $3 billion Beats deal in 2014. However, other leaders like Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software, have been more hesitant since they prefer to develop technology in-house rather than acquire it.

Despite having over $133 billion in cash, Apple has avoided large acquisitions due to worried about overpaying or creating culture clashes. Indeed, its corporate development team, led by Adrian Perica, typically avoids using outside bankers and prefers carefully calculated deals. Still, the AI world is moving fast, with Google and Meta buying up top talent through massive deals. In addition, if a court ruling soon ends the $20 billion Google pays Apple each year to be the default search engine, Apple would lose Google as a partner and may have to acquire a search-focused AI startup to fill the gap.

Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 16 Buys, 11 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $239.60 per share implies 5.4% upside potential.