Perplexity AI, the generative AI search startup, has secured $100 million in new capital, boosting its valuation to $18 billion, Bloomberg reported. The deal extends a recent funding round that had previously valued the company at $14 billion and highlights the continued enthusiasm among investors for top-tier AI ventures.
Founded in 2022, Perplexity has rapidly scaled, tripling its valuation several times over the past year. It has also been the source of reports that Apple is interested in acquiring the company. The firm had initially targeted an $18 billion valuation in March 2025 but settled for a smaller round at $14 billion before this latest infusion brought it back to its original goal. The move signals robust investor interest in the competitive AI search space as incumbents and new entrants alike race to develop advanced generative models for internet search and discovery.
As Bloomberg details, “The company brought in $100 million with the financing, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The deal is an extension of a previous round from a few months ago that valued the company at $14 billion, the person said — investments that underscore the Silicon Valley rush to back the top AI startups.”
Most recently PYMNTS covered Perplexity’s launch of a $200-a-month or $2,000-a-year subscription tier called Perplexity Max. The new subscription plan, announced July 2, includes all the features of the $20-a-month or $200-a-year Perplexity Pro and adds unlimited access to artificial intelligence (AI) models in Perplexity Research and Labs, unlimited queries to its Perplexity Labs productivity tool, early access to new products and features, and priority support, according to a Perplexity help center page.
Apple has reportedly held in-house talks about acquiring Perplexity AI. That’s according to a report Friday (June 20) by Bloomberg News, which points out that such a purchase would help Apple meet its need for AI technology and expertise. Sources told Bloomberg that Adrian Perica, the company’s head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), has discussed the idea with services chief Eddy Cue and key AI decision-makers. The talks are in their early stages and might not yield an offer, the sources added.
As the report noted, an acquisition would allow Apple to build an AI-based search engine as it faces the possible loss of its years long deal with Google, which made that company the default search on Apple devices.
