The Perplexity AI logo can be seen in this illustration taken on January 4, 2024.
Givenruvich | Reuters
Artificial intelligence search engine startup Perplexity AI is in the final stages of raising $500 million in funding, valuing it at $9 billion, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The startup’s competitors include Google and ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Confused the most recent valuation is US$3 billion June. Sources revealed that Bay Area-based Institutional Venture Partners is leading the new round of financing.
Perplexity was valued at about $500 million at the beginning of this year. The company has since continued to attract investor interest amid the generative artificial intelligence boom, raising four rounds of funding so far this year.
Last week, OpenAI launched a search feature in its viral chatbot ChatGPT, allowing it to better compete with leading search engines like Perplexity and Google and Microsoft’s Bing. According to the company, OpenAI’s search capabilities are powered by real-time web searches and partnerships with news and data providers to deliver the latest sports scores, stock quotes, news, weather and more.
Despite the boom in artificial intelligence, confusion persists mired in controversy Due to accusations of plagiarizing media content. new york times Last month, Perplexity sent a “cease and desist” notice to Perplexity, claiming the startup scraped content from news outlets to generate answers. Bewilderment has denied the accusations.
In July, Perplexity launched a revenue-sharing model for publishers. The company said that every time a user asks a question and Perplexity generates advertising revenue by citing articles in their answers, Perplexity shares a percentage of the revenue with the publisher.
Media organizations and content platforms including Fortune, Time, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune, Der Spiegel and WordPress are among the first to join the company’s Publisher Program Media and content platform. Perplexity chief commercial officer Dmitry Shevelenko told CNBC in a July interview that if three articles from a publisher are used in an answer, partners will receive “three times the revenue share.” Perplexity has been working on its revenue-sharing model since January, and the company aims to have 30 publishers on board by the end of the year, Shevelenko said.
Perplexity’s app has been downloaded more than 2 million times and answers more than 230 million queries each month, the company said in August. Inquiries in the U.S. increased eightfold last year, according to promotional materials from potential advertisers seen by CNBC.
wall street journal First to report on the new round of funding.
watch: Perplexity launches AI election center: Here’s what you need to know
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