Founded Less Than Three Years Ago, AI Startup Perplexity, Which Focuses on “Reinventing Search Engines with Generative AI,” is Currently Negotiating a New Round of Fundraising, Reported to Be as High as $1 Billion, with Its Valuation Expected to Double to $18 Billion. The Investors Behind Perplexity Include SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, Preparing to Compete with Google and OpenAI in the AI Search Market.
Negotiating a New Round of Fundraising, Valuation Could Reach $18 Billion
According to Bloomberg, Perplexity is negotiating a new round of fundraising, which could range from $500 million to $1 billion, with an overall valuation expected to reach $18 billion. This would be an increase from the previous reported valuation of $15 billion a few months ago. However, the discussions are still in their early stages, and Perplexity has declined to comment on the matter.
Founded in 2022, Perplexity has seen its valuation rise dramatically from $1 billion to $18 billion in just three years, making it one of the most high-profile AI search startups.
Perplexity Continues to Launch New Features, Aiming at Google and OpenAI
Perplexity specializes in AI search tools, offering not just free and paid search services, but also a range of advanced products:
- Enterprise Document Search Tool: Helps organizations search for internal data.
- Financial Tools: Provides stock price and corporate earnings data.
As of March 2024, Perplexity has surpassed 15 million active users, and its annual recurring revenue (ARR) is nearing $100 million, indicating a stable business model.
However, Perplexity’s competitors are not limited to the established search engine giant, Google. Now, OpenAI has also entered the fray. At the end of last year, ChatGPT opened its search feature to all users, aiming to capture a share of the AI search market.
Powerful Backers, SoftBank, Nvidia, and Bezos Have Invested
Perplexity’s investment roster is also impressive, having already received support from SoftBank, Vision Fund 2, Nvidia, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Whether this round of fundraising will attract additional investments from these industry giants is not yet clear.
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