SoftBank Vision Fund 2 to Invest $20 Million in Perplexity AI

Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund 2 is set to invest between $10 million and $20 million in U.S. search startup Perplexity AI, valuing the company at $3 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report on Thursday. This investment is part of a larger $250 million funding round, as reported by sources familiar with the matter.

Although the deal has not yet been finalized and its terms could still change, this move reflects SoftBank's continued interest in the AI sector. Both SoftBank and Perplexity AI did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the matter.

Perplexity AI offers search tools that provide users with instant answers to their questions, complete with sources and citations. The platform is powered by various large language models, including those from OpenAI and Meta's open-source model Llama. Based in San Francisco, California, Perplexity AI previously raised $73.6 million in January from a group of investors, including Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, at a valuation of $520 million. The company has reported serving over 500 million queries in 2023 despite minimal marketing expenditure.