Apple Inc.’s stock has had a rough go of it during the first half of the year. President Donald Trump’s tariffs caused have weighed on the company, as investors continue to gauge what the full cost to its business will be.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has held early internal discussions — led by its head of mergers and acquisitions — about a possible acquisition of Perplexity AI, the AI-powered search startup founded by Aravind Srinivas. While no formal offers have been made, top Apple executives have considered multiple scenarios involving the company.

The interest from both Silicon Valley giants raises an important question: why are they eyeing a much smaller company like Perplexity?