Perplexity AI’s Valuation Rises Again to $18 Billion as AI Search Heats Up

Perplexity AI, the artificial intelligence search engine startup, is making waves in the tech world with a meteoric rise in valuation, just two months after securing funding at a $14 billion valuation.

The company is now reportedly valued at $18 billion following another investment round, highlighting the intense investor appetite for AI-driven technologies and Perplexity's ambitious strategy to disrupt the established search engine market dominated by giants like Google.

The latest valuation marks a significant milestone for the company, which was valued at approximately $500 million at the beginning of 2024.

The surge in valuation is fueled by a combination of factors, including Perplexity's innovative product developments, impressive revenue growth, and the overall frenzy surrounding AI technologies. The company has been aggressively expanding its product offerings to enhance user engagement and functionality.

Notably, the July 2025 launch of Comet, an AI-powered web browser designed to act as a user assistant, allows users to perform tasks such as shopping, summarizing social media feeds, and sending emails through voice and text commands.

Additionally, Perplexity Assistant, introduced earlier in January, performs tasks across different applications while maintaining context, streamlining user interactions across platforms on both Android and iOS devices.

Beyond product innovation, Perplexity has also diversified its revenue streams, contributing to significant financial growth. The company offers subscription plans ranging from $20 to $200 per month, providing users with additional features and capabilities. The company has also ventured into advertising and e-commerce, further bolstering its revenue.

These diversified revenue streams have allowed the company to achieve annualized revenues that have surged from $35 million in August 2024 to $150 million by mid-2025, demonstrating strong momentum in its core AI products.

However, Perplexity's rapid growth has not been without its challenges. The company operates in a highly competitive AI search market, facing competition from major tech companies like Anthropic, which launched web search capabilities for its AI assistant, Claude, intensifying competition in the AI search domain. Furthermore, Perplexity has encountered legal challenges, including copyright infringement allegations from major media organizations, as well as a trademark dispute with a software firm claiming trademark infringement.

Despite these challenges, Perplexity continues to attract significant investor backing from prominent entities such as Nvidia, SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, New Enterprise Associates, IVP, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta's Yann LeCun.

The company's strategic product developments, diversified revenue streams, and strong investor backing position it as a formidable contender in the AI search engine market. While Perplexity AI is a privately held company and not listed on public stock exchanges, some private platforms estimate a secondary market price for Perplexity AI shares, yet is should be noted that these are not available to the general public.