Perplexity: 500 million dollar round could value AI startup at 14 billion

Perplexity, the AI startup known for its generative search engine, is reportedly close to raising $500 million in a new funding round that would value the company at $14 billion. That marks an increase of more than 50 percent since the end of 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal. Venture capital firm Accel is expected to lead the round, with partner Sameer Gandhi likely joining Perplexity's board. Perplexity offers a search engine powered by generative AI that returns direct answers with sources instead of traditional lists of links. The company is also developing its own web browser, Comet, and has released an AI assistant for smartphones. Perplexity competes with Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT's search, and has faced criticism from publishers like the New York Times.