Chipmaker Nvidia is reportedly in talks to make a fresh investment in artificial intelligence startup Perplexity as part of a funding round that could value the company at more than USD 30 billion, according to media reports.
The development comes ahead of Nvidia’s fiscal second-quarter earnings announcement scheduled for August 26, with investors closely watching for updates on the company’s artificial intelligence investments and partnerships.
According to TheStreet, citing The Information, Nvidia is discussing an equity investment in Perplexity. Reuters also reported the development but said it could not independently verify the details.
Perplexity was valued at about USD 20 billion following a funding round finalised last year. A valuation of USD 30 billion would represent an increase of more than 50 per cent in about 12 months, TheStreet reported, citing Investing.com.
This would not be Nvidia’s first investment in the AI search startup. The chipmaker has invested in Perplexity since 2023, while the startup in July committed to running its AI agent workloads on Nvidia’s Vera CPUs.
According to The Information, Nvidia had previously explored alternatives including a licensing arrangement with Perplexity or hiring some of its employees before discussions shifted towards a potential equity stake in the startup.
Perplexity already counts prominent investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Japan’s SoftBank Group, among its backers.
The startup’s annualised revenue has reportedly surged to more than USD 750 million from less than USD 250 million at the beginning of the year, marking a threefold increase in roughly eight months, Reuters reported.
TheStreet said part of the revenue growth has been driven by Perplexity Computer, a cloud-based AI agent designed to help professionals automate computer-based tasks.
Analysts have remained broadly optimistic ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report, TheStreet said, despite the latest reports regarding a potential investment in Perplexity.