Perplexity is on a fundraising hot streak
How hot is the AI-startup fundraising market right now? If you’re an AI-search company, it’s really, really hot.
On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that AI startup Perplexity is in talks to raise $500 million at an $8 billion valuation, in what would be its fourth fundraise of the year, marking a wild turn of events for a company that was valued at $520 million just nine months ago.
Why are investors so excited about this AI startup? Because the company is a front-runner in a market widely seen to be disruptable by AI innovation: search. Perplexity leverages the web to give generative-AI responses to user queries and provides citations for its answers, though some critics argue its still a plagiarism engine and The New York Times has recently sent the AI company a “cease and desist” notice to stop using their content.
But with annualized revenue up from $10 million in March to $50 million in October, it's no surprise that investors are lining up to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.
Why are investors so excited about this AI startup? Because the company is a front-runner in a market widely seen to be disruptable by AI innovation: search. Perplexity leverages the web to give generative-AI responses to user queries and provides citations for its answers, though some critics argue its still a plagiarism engine and The New York Times has recently sent the AI company a “cease and desist” notice to stop using their content.
But with annualized revenue up from $10 million in March to $50 million in October, it's no surprise that investors are lining up to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.
