Perplexity AI, the AI-powered search startup, has successfully raised $73.6 million (approximately €67 million) in a funding round led by IVP and supported by prominent investors such as Jeff Bezos, NEA, Databricks Ventures, Elad Gil, Tobi Lutke, Nat Friedman, Guillermo Rauch, and Nvidia. With this significant boost, the company has achieved a valuation of $520 million.
The funds acquired will be utilized to sustain the growth and development of its search engine technology, aiming to differentiate itself from conventional search engines like Google. Perplexity AI offers a chatbot-like interface that allows users to pose questions in natural language.
Back in April 2023, the startup successfully closed a Series A funding round, securing $26 million, which played a crucial role in executing its expansion plans. These plans included the optimization of the knowledge database of its tool.
A Distinctive Approach to Traditional Search Engines
Perplexity positions itself as a conversational search engine, enabling users to engage in a fluid dialogue with the search engine and displaying real-time updated sources from where it extracted information for its responses. Unlike traditional search engines, this tool permits users to string together questions and receive answers without the need to click on reference links.
Furthermore, it provides more robust discovery and filtering options. For instance, users can narrow down searches to academic articles or explore trending topics submitted by other users on the platform.
As depicted in the screenshot of Perplexity’s search interface below, the tool provides a brief text in response to the user’s query. It indicates the information sources and, on the right margin, offers the option to search for related videos or generate images. Additionally, users can follow the search thread, rewrite the provided text, or share the results.
The search engine can be used anonymously or accessed through a Google or Apple account.
Presently, the startup is introducing its own GenAI models through an API available to Pro customers. The platform features a subscription plan called the “Pro Plan,” allowing users to switch between different GenAI models and unlock additional features, such as image generation, unlimited use of Perplexity’s Copilot, and file uploads for analysis.
Understanding the Functionality of Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI tool that blends web search capabilities with language models to furnish users with answers to their queries while always disclosing the information source. Founded in August 2022 by Denis Yarats, Aravind Srinivas, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, individuals with extensive expertise in large language model development gained at Google AI.
The technology powering Perplexity is based on a large language model (LLM) that combines the capabilities of GPT-3 and GPT-4. LLMs are deep learning models using neural networks to process vast amounts of text and learn linguistic patterns. Perplexity AI employs a customized version of GPT-3 and GPT-4 to process user queries and generate precise, context-aware responses. Additionally, it incorporates natural language processing (NLP) techniques to comprehend human language and extract relevant information from online sources.
