Last Updated: 11 October 2025
According to the Wall Street Journal, AI search engine Perplexity is currently in discussions to secure new funding, aiming to raise around $500 million at a potential valuation of $8 billion. If successful, this would more than double the company's valuation, which was $3 billion after a recent funding round led by SoftBank during the summer.
Since its founding in 2022, Perplexity has grown rapidly. Currently, the platform handles approximately 15 million search queries daily and generates an estimated $50 million in annual revenue.
The platform employs artificial intelligence to conduct web searches through a chatbot-like interface. However, some news publishers have accused Perplexity of unauthorized web scraping and plagiarism. The New York Times even issued a cease-and-desist letter. Despite these issues, CEO Aravind Srinivas has expressed a desire to work with publishers, emphasizing that he does not want to be seen as an adversary.
This fundraising initiative follows OpenAI's recent announcement of raising $6.6 billion at a $157 billion valuation. With products like ChatGPT blurring the lines between chatbots and search engines, OpenAI is making more direct moves into the search space with SearchGPT.
The outcome of this funding round is still uncertain, but it could be a big moment for Perplexity. Raising $500 million at an $8 billion valuation would put Perplexity in a strong position to compete in the AI search market. It would help them grow and innovate.
Despite the issues around web scraping, their willingness to work with publishers shows they're serious about overcoming challenges and making their mark in the industry.
