(Reuters) -Apple ( AAPL ) executives have held internal talks about potentially bidding for artificial intelligence startup Perplexity, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The discussions are at an early stage and may not lead to an offer, the report said, adding that the tech behemoth's executives have not discussed a bid with Perplexity's management.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Perplexity did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Big tech companies are doubling down investments to enhance AI capabilities and support growing demand for AI-powered services to maintain competitive leadership in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Adrian Perica, Apple's ( AAPL ) head of mergers and acquisitions, has weighed the idea with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI decision-makers, as per the report.

Bloomberg News reported earlier on Friday that Meta Platforms tried to buy Perplexity earlier this year.

Meta announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI last week and hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its new superintelligence unit.