Perplexity AI Eyes Launching Browser to Challenge Google

Perplexity AI is reportedly in advanced talks to raise $500 million at a valuation of $14 billion, a figure that would be up from the $9 billion at which it was valued in November.

The potential leap in value comes at a time when Apple is considering adding the startup’s artificial intelligence (AI) search features to Apple’s browser, Safari, and when the Perplexity AI is planning to launch its own web browser called Comet, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (May 12), citing unnamed sources.

Perplexity AI did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The company’s AI-powered search tool provides answers in the form of sentences with links to the websites from which it got the information, rather than delivering a list of links like other search engines, according to the WSJ report.

While Perplexity AI is growing rapidly, it also faces increasing competition, the report said, pointing to OpenAI’s addition of a search engine to ChatGPT last year and Google’s introduction of AI Overviews in May 2024.

It was reported in December that Perplexity started 2024 with a valuation of $520 million, was valued at $3 billion during the summer, and then tripled its valuation to $9 billion in a funding round in early December.

Bloomberg reported in March that Perplexity AI was in early talks to raise $500 million to $1 billion in a funding round that would value it at $18 billion.

It was reported Saturday (May 10) that the growing popularity of AI search has made investors in Apple and Google uneasy.

Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue said last week that searches originating from Google’s search engine in Apple’s Safari browser fell for the first time in April and that the decreased searches were due to the increasing popularity of AI-based search offerings.

Cue also said Apple is considering adding AI search engines like Perplexity to Safari.

Perplexity AI said April 24 that its answer engine and assistant will be preinstalled on the new generation of Motorola smartphones worldwide.

The company announced its plans to launch Comet in February, saying the web browser is “coming soon” and inviting people to sign up on a waitlist.