Overview

• Perplexity closed a $500 million funding round in May 2025, driving its valuation to $14 billion, up from $9 billion in late 2024.
• Both Apple and Meta have held exploratory talks about acquiring the San Francisco–based startup to strengthen their AI search offerings.
• The company’s search engine uses large language models to deliver concise, ad-free summaries with source citations instead of traditional SEO results.
• Publishers including the BBC, The New York Times and Forbes have threatened legal action over allegations that Perplexity scrapes and republishes content without permission.
• To address backlash over content sourcing, Perplexity launched a revenue-sharing program with publishers in July 2024.