Perplexity AI Challenges Google and Microsoft with $73.6M Funding Boost for its User-Friendly Search Approach
Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity AI, an IIT-Madras alumnus, is spearheading a challenge against industry heavyweights like Google and Microsoft Bing in the search engine domain. Drawing parallels to Larry Page’s vision for Google 23 years ago, Srinivas finds himself in a David vs. Goliath scenario.
Perplexity AI, co-founded by Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Andy Konwinski, and Johnny Ho, secured a substantial $73.6 million in funding this week from notable investors, including US chip maker Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The funding round, led by Institutional Venture Partners with support from NEA and Databricks Ventures, valued the AI startup at $520 million, bringing its total raised funds to $100 million in its 16-month existence.
Srinivas, a former intern at DeepMind, Google, and OpenAI, has positioned Perplexity AI as a formidable contender in the Generative AI ecosystem. The funding milestone coincides with major tech players like Google and Microsoft integrating AI into their search engines.
Perplexity distinguishes itself with a chatbot-style interface, allowing users to pose questions using everyday language. Much like Microsoft, the startup offers an AI assistant called Copilot.
With Perplexity’s search tools, users get instant, reliable answers to any question with complete sources and citations included. There is no need to click on different links, compare answers, or endlessly dig for information,” Srinivas stated in a blog post.
Amid concerns about misinformation and AI-generated content, Srinivas emphasized the company’s commitment to accuracy and transparency, positioning Perplexity as a solution for making AI-powered search ubiquitous.
The company reports a user base of 10 million monthly active users and claims to have handled over half a billion queries in 2023. Srinivas envisions a shift away from sifting through SEO spam and sponsored links, asserting that Perplexity offers a more efficient way to consume and share information.