Perplexity AI Seeks to Double Valuation with $500 Million Fundraising Round

The artificial intelligence company Perplexity AI expects to raise $500 million in a new round of funding that would double its valuation to more than $8 billion.

According to The Wall Street Journal, this would be the startup’s fourth round of the year, in “an unusually fast pace” even for Silicon Valley companies.

The company’s valuation has significantly evolved and increased this year. In January, Perplexity AI was worth $520 million and by the summer it had reached $3 billion.

Based on recent sales—premium subscriptions to users—, the company’s annual revenue is estimated at 50 million.

Other AI companies have significantly increased their value as well. Just a few weeks ago, OpenAI reached $157 billion after raising $6.6 billion in recent funding, ensuring its lead in the AI assistant race. Perplexity AI seems to be working on strategic moves to remain competitive in the market.

CNBC also confirmed the funding talks with a person familiar with the matter, but the details of the discussions and negotiations with potential investors have not been disclosed and remain private. According to the American news channel, Perplexity AI also wants to challenge Google’s dominance and gain relevance in the search engine industry.

In August, the Nvidia-backed AI company announced that it would include ads on its platform with a new system by the end of the year, as a strategy to share revenues for interactions with publishers among plagiarism controversies.

Just a few days ago, the New York Times issued a cease-and-desist letter requesting the AI company to stop using its content without permission.