A nearly 3-year-old AI startup has reportedly caught the attention of two of the largest and most influential tech companies, underscoring the fierce competition for AI talent and push to become leaders in what some believe will be the next major evolution of the internet.

Apple and Meta are reportedly exploring a bid to acquire Perplexity AI, a fast-growing conversational search startup handling over 780M queries monthly.

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