Nvidia is negotiating an investment in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion, The Information reports. Perplexity's annualized revenue tripled to over $750 million, driven partly by its agentic "Perplexity Computer" product.
Key facts
- Valuation above $30 billion, 50%+ above last round
- Perplexity ARR tripled to over $750 million
- Raised more than $1.7 billion total to date
- IPO under consideration around 2028 per CNBC
- Nvidia previously invested in Groq at $20B, Enfabrica at $900M
Nvidia is in talks to invest in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion, more than 50 percent higher than the search startup's last funding round a year ago, The Information reports. The deal would cement Nvidia's position as the AI industry's most aggressive financial backer, following investments in Poolside, Groq ($20 billion valuation), and Enfabrica ($900 million).
Perplexity's annualized revenue has tripled from $250 million to over $750 million, driven in part by "Perplexity Computer," an AI agent for automated tasks. The revenue jump likely ties to the higher token consumption that agentic AI demands — a dynamic that neatly serves Nvidia's core business.
The chip subsidy loop
Nvidia's investment strategy has a self-reinforcing quality: much of the money it pours into portfolio companies flows back as revenue when those startups buy its GPUs. Perplexity, which runs inference-heavy search workloads, is a natural customer. Nvidia had previously considered an acqui-hire to absorb Perplexity's technology and staff, per the report, suggesting the investment route is a fallback that keeps the startup independent.
Perplexity has raised more than $1.7 billion to date. CEO Aravind Srinivas is considering an IPO around 2028, according to CNBC. In March, Perplexity joined Nvidia's Nemotron Coalition, which promotes open AI models as a counterweight to Chinese development efforts.
The valuation jump — from roughly $20 billion to over $30 billion in a year — is steep for a company whose core search product faces intense competition from Google and OpenAI. But the agentic AI tailwind, plus Nvidia's strategic interest in locking in another chip customer, may justify the premium. Nvidia did not disclose the investment amount or stake size.
What to watch
Watch for confirmation of the investment size and stake in Nvidia's next 10-Q filing, and whether Perplexity's ARR sustains its triple-digit growth as agentic token consumption scales. Also track whether Nvidia converts more portfolio stakes into chip purchase commitments, following its $6B Poolside deal.
Source: the-decoder.com
