Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup developing a search engine to rival Google, has raised $63 million, valuing it at over $1 billion, a doubling from three months prior. The round saw participation from influential figures such as Daniel Gross, Stanley Druckenmiller, and tech leaders from Y Combinator and Figma, with continued support from Jeff Bezos and NVIDIA.
“We want to get Perplexity in the hands of every single company in the United States,” Aravind Srinivas, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said in an interview.
Founded less than two years ago, Perplexity offers an AI chatbot that not only summarizes search results but also cites sources and assists users in refining searches to improve accuracy. Already boasting nearly 75 million US user queries this year, the startup reports $20 million in annual revenue and is expanding its business-oriented services with a new enterprise chatbot version. It has also secured distribution deals with major carriers like SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom, aiming to reach over 300 million users globally.
Despite its smaller size compared to giants like OpenAI and Google, Perplexity is rapidly gaining traction in the AI market, emphasizing precision and frequent updates to stay competitive.
Gross, an entrepreneur and investor with a background in AI projects at Apple Inc. and as a partner at Y Combinator, said that obtaining truthful answers warrants a specialized product. He noted that features such as citations and sourcing high-quality information from authoritative sources are possible when a company focuses on specialization rather than attempting to create a generalized product.
