Nvidia Plans to Invest in Perplexity: AI Search Engine Valuation Could Top $30 Billion
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24.08.2026 22:21
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2 min read
Chipmaker Nvidia is in talks to invest in a new funding round for Perplexity AI. According to The Decoder, the AI search startup’s valuation could exceed $30 billion in the potential deal.
A successful close would boost the company’s valuation by more than 50% in a single year, following a $200 million funding round at a $20 billion valuation in September 2025.
Tripled Revenue and the Perplexity Computer Agent Environment
The valuation jump is driven by strong financial performance: the service’s annualized revenue run rate (ARR) has tripled since the beginning of 2026, surpassing $750 million.
Monetization is primarily driven by the launch of Perplexity Computer, a platform for autonomous digital workers. The service distributes workflows across 20 different AI models, performs complex research in the background, and is natively integrated into the Microsoft 365 suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams).
Infrastructure Contracts and the Nvidia Alliance
According to Reuters, Nvidia is a long-time investor in the company, alongside Jeff Bezos and venture firms NEA and IVP. The GPU maker has previously explored licensing Perplexity’s search technology and hiring some of its engineering team.
Additionally, Perplexity was one of the first major customers for Nvidia Vera, the chipmaker’s new server superchip.
A growing user base demands massive computing power: the startup previously signed a cloud infrastructure lease with Microsoft Azure worth approximately $750 million. The new funding round will help offset the rising costs of running inference for complex agentic workflows.
IPO Strategy for 2028
Founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas stated that the startup plans to go public in 2028. Securing strategic capital at a valuation of over $30 billion is a key step in preparing for the IPO.
Neither party has officially commented on the details of the potential deal.
