According to people familiar with the matter, Perplexity AI Inc., an artificial intelligence search engine company whose products compete with Google, received an injection of capital in a new round of financing, valuing the company at US$18 billion.
The round brings $100 million to Perplexity and is an extension of a round a few months ago that valued the company at $14 billion, the person said. The investments underscore Silicon Valley’s rush for top artificial intelligence startups.
Founded in 2022, Perplexity is one of the representative companies using generative artificial intelligence to redefine core Internet services. The startup's valuation tripled last year from $1 billion to $3 billion, and tripled again a few months later.
In March of this year, Perplexity originally planned to raise up to US$1 billion (including the funds raised in this round) at a valuation of US$18 billion, but later completed a smaller financing at a valuation of US$14 billion. The new injection of funds has returned its valuation to its original target level.