Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence startup that is building a search engine to compete with Google, has raised about $63 million in a new funding round. This funding has catapulted the company’s valuation to over $1 billion, doubling its valuation from just three months ago. The round was led by investor Daniel Gross, with participation from billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, Figma Inc. CEO Dylan Field, and earlier backers including Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia Corp.
Founded less than two years ago, Perplexity offers an AI chatbot that summarizes search results, lists citations for its answers, and helps users refine their queries to get the best responses. The startup has processed nearly 75 million user queries in the US so far this year, surpassing its total for all of 2023. It is currently generating $20 million in annual recurring revenue from both free and paid versions of its service.
Perplexity is now focusing on selling AI services to businesses and has announced a new enterprise version of its chatbot, priced at $40 a month. This version includes added features such as stronger security and data protection measures. Bridgewater Associates, Zoom Video Communications Inc., and the Cleveland Cavaliers are among the early group of businesses using the product.
The startup is also looking to expand its user base in other regions. It has signed distribution partnerships with Japan’s SoftBank Corp. and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG, which will market the service to a combined total of more than 300 million users worldwide. Some of these customers will be offered a free one-year subscription to Perplexity.
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