Perplexity AI, a startup using artificial intelligence to build a search engine to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, has raised about $63 million in a new funding round that values the company at more than $1 billion. The financing, set to be announced on Tuesday, doubles Perplexity’s valuation from just three months ago. Investor Daniel Gross led the round with participation from billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, Y Combinator Chief Executive Officer Garry Tan and Figma Inc. CEO Dylan Field. Several earlier Perplexity backers, including Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia Corp. also joined the round. The Wall Street Journal previously reported Perplexity was in funding talks. 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. With an emphasis on accuracy, Perplexity has quickly distinguished its chatbot in an increasingly crowded market and earned fans like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has said he uses the product “almost every day.” Perplexity has processed more user queries in the US so far this year — nearly 75 million — than it did in all of 2023. Perplexity, which offers free and paid versions of its service, said it’s generating $20 million in annual recurring revenue. Like many other AI companies, Perplexity is now trying to boost revenue by focusing on selling AI services to businesses. The startup is announcing a new enterprise version of its chatbot, priced at $40 a month, with added features including 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.
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