Artificial intelligence company Perplexity is seeking $500 million in financing, which would bring its valuation to $8 billion and would be the company’s fourth round of financing in a year. This round of funding will further fuel Perplexity’s development on its innovative search tool, which integrates multiple large language models to provide users with instant answers and information sources. However, Perplexity has also faced controversy over plagiarism, and the company is working to address these issues. The editor of Downcodes will give you an in-depth understanding of the latest developments of Perplexity and its position in the highly competitive AI search engine market.
According to a Wall Street Journal report on October 20, artificial intelligence search company Perplexity is seeking a new round of financing of approximately US$500 million, which will bring the company’s valuation to US$8 billion. The company has mentioned these figures in discussions with investors, but specific terms may change and financing may not be finalized, people familiar with the matter said.
If this round of financing is successful, it will be Perplexity’s fourth round of financing within a year, and the company’s valuation will double. It is reported that the company was valued at US$520 million in January this year, which has grown to US$3 billion by this summer. Perplexity's current annualized revenue is about $50 million, a significant increase from $10 million in March this year, people familiar with the matter said.
For comparison, OpenAI also recently completed US$6.6 billion in financing, with a valuation reaching US$157 billion, almost double its US$86 billion valuation earlier this year. In addition, Safe Superintelligence (SSI), an artificial intelligence startup founded by Ilya Sutskever, the former chief scientist of OpenAI, received US$1 billion in financing in September this year, with investors including a number of well-known technology investment institutions.
Perplexity is attracting attention in the search engine market with its innovative search tools. The company integrates multiple large language models, including OpenAI and Meta’s Llama, to provide users with instant answers, sources of information, and citations. In 2023, the company processed more than 500 million query requests with minimal marketing expenditures.
In August this year, it was reported that Perplexity planned to monetize its platform through advertising. However, the company has also faced controversy, with some major media outlets accusing it of plagiarism, sparking discussions about content ownership and fair use in the age of artificial intelligence. In response, Perplexity has adjusted its citation specifications and launched a revenue-sharing model for publishers.
Perplexity’s financing news and its progress in the field of AI search deserve our continued attention. Its future development direction and ability to deal with disputes will determine whether it can gain a foothold in the highly competitive market and achieve long-term development. The editor of Downcodes will continue to report the latest progress for you.