Perplexity reportedly raised $200M at $20B valuation

Perplexity, an innovative AI-driven search startup, has successfully raised $200 million in funding, achieving a remarkable valuation of $20 billion, as reported by The Information. This latest financial boost follows a previous funding round just two months ago, where the company garnered $100 million at an $18 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. Since its inception three years ago, Perplexity has seen robust growth, accumulating a total of $1.5 billion in funding as indicated by PitchBook data. The details surrounding the latest capital injection remain unclear, including the identity of the leading investors. Bloomberg also noted that the July funding was an extension of an earlier $500 million round that had been completed earlier in the year at a valuation of $14 billion, which was spearheaded by Accel. Sources close to the company report that Perplexity's annual recurring revenue (ARR) is nearing $200 million. Notably, last month, the company’s head of communications disclosed to Business Insider that the ARR had already surpassed $150 million. An attempt to reach out to Perplexity for further comments yielded no immediate response. This influx of funds arrives as Perplexity sets its sights on rivaling Google's dominance in the search engine market. In a bold move, the company proposed to acquire Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, which came on the heels of the Justice Department’s allegations of anti-competitive behavior against Google, prompting discussions about the potential sale of its web browser. However, a federal judge recently ruled that Google will not be required to dismantle its search business, allowing the tech giant to retain control over Chrome.