- Perplexity seeks $500 million at $8 billion valuation
- Company faces web scraping accusations
- AI search competition intensifies following OpenAI’s fundraise
AI Search Engine Aims High
Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine, is reportedly in talks to raise approximately $500 million at an $8 billion valuation.
This potential deal, reported by the Wall Street Journal, would more than double the company’s previous $3 billion valuation from its SoftBank-led round earlier this year.
Rapid Growth Amid Controversy
The company currently processes about 15 million queries daily, generating around $50 million in annualized revenue. However, Perplexity faces accusations of unauthorized web scraping and plagiarism from some news publishers.
CEO Aravind Srinivas emphasizes a desire to collaborate rather than antagonize content creators.
AI Search Race Heats Up
Perplexity’s fundraising efforts come on the heels of OpenAI’s massive $6.6 billion raise at a $157 billion valuation.
The line between chatbots and search engines continues to blur, OpenAI’s introduction of SearchGPT signals intensifying competition in the AI search market.
