Last April, we reported that Perplexity AI, which is developing an AI-powered search engine, raised $62.7 million in funding. With this investment, we mentioned that the company’s valuation exceeded $1 billion.
Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine competing with major players like OpenAI, has made headlines with new news. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the company is in discussions to raise around $500 million at a valuation of $8 billion.
Perplexity was founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. The company offers users an AI-powered search engine, receiving approximately 15 million queries daily and achieving an annual revenue of $50 million.
Perplexity allows users to search the web through a chatbot. However, the company has faced accusations of unauthorized web scraping and plagiarism from some news publishers. In this context, The New York Times had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity. Despite these challenges, CEO Aravind Srinivas stated his intention to collaborate with publishers and emphasized that he did not aim to be anyone’s enemy.
This investment discussion is taking place during a time when OpenAI has announced a significant funding round of $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion. OpenAI’s products, such as ChatGPT, blur the lines between chatbots and search engines, while the company is also more directly venturing into the search domain with SearchGPT.
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Arwen Volkov, A graduate of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland with a degree in International Finance, Arwen specializes in sustainable finance and green investments. She began her career at an investment bank in London, where she developed financing models for environmentally friendly projects. Known for her analytical and strategic thinking skills, Arwen is a sought-after financial consultant. In her spare time, she mentors fintech startups, contributing to their growth strategies. She is also a nature enthusiast and an amateur photographer.
