Perplexity, an AI-powered search startup that competes with Google by providing conversational answers to user queries, has secured 200 million dollars in new funding. This investment values the company at 20 billion dollars. The fresh capital arrives just two months after the company raised 100 million dollars at an 18 billion dollar valuation.
Since it was founded three years ago, the rapidly growing AI company has raised 1.5 billion dollars in total funding. It remains unclear who led this latest capital injection. A previous report indicated that a July financing round was an extension of a 500 million dollar deal completed earlier this year at a 14 billion dollar valuation, which was led by Accel.
According to a source familiar with the company, Perplexity’s annual recurring revenue is approaching 200 million dollars. Last month, the company’s head of communication stated that its annual recurring revenue was more than 150 million dollars.
This new funding comes as Perplexity positions itself as a direct challenger to Google’s dominance in search. In a bold move this past August, Perplexity offered to buy Google’s Chrome browser for 34.5 billion dollars. That offer was made after the Justice Department, which alleged Google was acting anticompetitively, proposed that the company sell its web browser. However, earlier this month a federal judge ruled that Google will not have to break up its search business, effectively allowing the company to keep Chrome.