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Perplexity eyes a $14 billion valuation as late-stage funding talks round the corner.
Perplexity is in advanced discussions to raise roughly $500 million in a new financing round led by Accel, The Wall Street Journal reports, lifting its implied valuation from $9 billion in December to about $14 billion.
Backed by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and investors such as Jeff Bezos's Bezos Expeditions and Institutional Venture Partners, the startup has seen blistering growth in usage as it positions itself to challenge Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) search dominance with AI-driven results.
The infusion, if completed, would mark Perplexity's third major round in less than a year and could come at terms more favorable than its last raise, reflecting growing investor appetite for generative-AI plays.
Nvidia's early backing has proven prescient: Perplexity's engine runs on Hopper-based GPUs that enterprises prize for large-language tasks, and its growing API business has begun monetizing high-volume queries from corporate clients. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is also reportedly in talks with Perplexity after noting a dip in Safari search share, suggesting that iPhone users are increasingly turning to AI-powered alternatives.
Why it matters: A $14 billion price tag underscores outsized expectations for AI search startups and signals that investors see Perplexity as a principal rival to Google, with potential spillover benefits for chipset suppliers like Nvidia.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.