AI-powered search startup Perplexity is reportedly in preliminary discussions to secure up to $1 billion in a new funding round, which would value the company at $18 billion.
According to Bloomberg, referencing a source familiar with the situation, it was reported on Thursday that Perplexity’s annual recurring revenue has now reached $100 million.
Perplexity’s valuation has significantly increased in recent years. This prospective funding round would double the company’s current valuation of $9 billion, as last reported in December. In April 2024, Perplexity was valued at $1 billion.
These rumors about a new funding round emerge as competition intensifies in the AI-powered search industry.
On Thursday, Anthropic integrated web search capabilities into its consumer AI chatbot, Claude. Earlier in March, Google introduced an early version of a chat-based AI search engine called AI Mode, which is currently being tested by a limited group of users.
In light of the increasingly crowded core market, Perplexity is seeking to expand into new areas. The startup recently hinted at the launch of an “agentic” browser named Comet and enhanced its enterprise offerings with an AI search engine designed to assist businesses in retrieving information from internal documents.
A request for a comment from Perplexity regarding these fundraising rumors has been made, and updates will be provided if a response is received.
