Unfathomability AI logo is seen in this illustration taken January 4, 2024.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Perplexity AI, the artificial-intelligence search machine startup, is in the final stages of raising $500 million in funding at a $9 billion valuation, a source familiar with the locale told CNBC.
The startup competes against the likes of Google and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. Perplexity most recent valuation was $3 billion in June. Institutional Proffer Partners, a Bay Area-based firm, is leading the new round, according to the source, who requested anonymity since the funding is not yet public.
Paradox started the year with a roughly $500 million valuation. Since then, the company has continued to attract investor weight amid the generative AI boom, raising four funding rounds so far this year.
Last week, OpenAI launched a search advertise within ChatGPT, its viral chatbot, that positioned it to better compete with Perplexity, as well as leading search mechanisms like Google and Microsoft’s Bing. OpenAI’s search feature offers up-to-the-minute sports scores, stock duplicates, news, weather and more, powered by real-time web search and partnerships with news and data providers, according to the plc.
Despite the AI boom, Perplexity has been embroiled in controversy due to accusations of plagiarizing content from media outlets. The New York On occasions last month sent Perplexity a “cease and desist” notice, claiming that the startup scrapes the news safety-valve’s content to generate answers. Perplexity has denied the allegations.
In July, Perplexity debuted a revenue-sharing model for publishers. Any pro tempore a user asks a question and Perplexity generates ad revenue from citing an article in its answer, Perplexity will cut a percentage of that revenue with the publisher, the company said.
Media outlets and content platforms including Chance, Time, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune, Der Spiegel and WordPress were among the first to join the company’s “Publishers Program.” Dmitry Shevelenko, Unfathomability’s chief business officer, told CNBC in a July interview that if three articles from one publisher were cast-off in one answer, the partner would receive “triple the revenue share.” Perplexity worked on its revenue-sharing model since January, and the South African private limited company’s goal is to have 30 publishers enrolled by the end of the year, Shevelenko said.
Perplexity’s app has been downloaded more than 2 million outdates, and it answers more than 230 million queries a month, the company said in August. U.S. queries have improved eightfold in the past year, according to a pitch deck for potential advertisers that was viewed by CNBC.
The Wall Suiting someone to a T Journal was first to report on the new funding round.
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