AI Startup Perplexity in Talks to Raise Money at $3 Billion Valuation

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Bessemer Venture Partners is in talks to lead a $250 million investment in Perplexity, a developer of an artificial intelligence-powered search engine, at a $3 billion valuation, according to a person familiar with the matter. The new valuation would be triple what the San Francisco-based startup was valued at earlier this year.

The new investment, which is Perplexity’s fourth funding round since March 2023, shows venture capital investors are still willing to pay high prices for generative AI startups, even as the high costs of developing the technology has forced many companies to sell themselves or consider doing so.