Perplexity, a startup launched in August 2022, is betting on the wave of artificial intelligence (AI) to challenge Google in the search engine market. Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity offers a unique combination of chatbot and search engine functionalities. Its AI-based search engine provides real-time information and offers footnotes to show the sources of its answers. Despite not being profitable yet, Perplexity has already gained 10 million monthly active users and claims that over a million people have installed its mobile apps on iOS and Android platforms. The startup served over half a billion queries last year.
On Thursday, Perplexity announced that it raised $73.6 million in funding from a group of investors led by venture capital firm IVP. Notably, the funding round included investments from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, AI chip giant Nvidia, and Shopify co-founder Tobias Lütke. Perplexity’s valuation following the funding round stands at approximately $520 million.
While Google currently holds a dominant position in the online search market with about 90% market share, Perplexity aims to provide a more efficient way for users to access and share information, directly answering questions without the need for multiple search result pages. Perplexity CEO Avarind Srinivas believes that Google will be seen as a legacy and old, while Perplexity will be viewed as the next generation and future of search engines.
Although Perplexity’s revenue currently only ranges between $5 million to $10 million annually from subscriptions and AI software sales, the recent funding will allow the company to expand its workforce from 38 to around 60 employees by the end of the year.
While it remains a long shot for Perplexity to pose an immediate threat to Google’s dominance, the startup represents a bold bet on the potential of AI in revolutionizing how people access information online. Just as Jeff Bezos once rode the wave of growing web usage to establish Amazon, he now places his faith in Perplexity’s ability to ride the wave of AI. Only time will tell if the startup can disrupt the search engine market and challenge Google’s longstanding dominance.
The source of the article is from the blog oinegro.com.br