Perplexity, itself an artificial intelligence startup with roots in search and conversational AI technology, is reportedly preparing to anchor a new multi-million dollar venture fund targeting U.S.-based pre-seed and seed artificial intelligence startups. While the exact size of the fund was not confirmed in public statements, sources cited by CNBC suggest that the bulk of the capital will come from external limited partners, with Perplexity leading as an anchor investor. The move aims to further accelerate innovation in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence ecosystem.
PYMNTS reached out to Perplexity regarding the new fund, but the company declined to comment. The announcement comes on the heels of the company’s high-profile fundraising activities in December, during which it closed a multi-million dollar round backed by notable investors including SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This round reportedly tripled Perplexity’s valuation, underlining the momentum and investor appetite surrounding artificial intelligence platforms with broad growth potential.
Perplexity continues to expand its product offerings at a brisk pace. Just days prior to the venture fund report, the company unveiled plans for an artificial intelligence-powered web browser dubbed Comet, encouraging early signups to a waitlist. In recent months, the startup has pushed forward with features such as Buy With Pro, a shopping assistant leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance product research and purchase experiences. The company also reports that its search engine now fields more than 100 million queries a week, reflecting significant user interest and adoption of artificial intelligence-driven search tools.
This venture fund initiative emerges against a backdrop of surging venture capital interest in the artificial intelligence sector. According to figures from HSBC Innovation Banking, artificial intelligence companies captured 42 percent of all U.S. venture capital investment in 2024, up from 36 percent the previous year and just 22 percent in 2022. Innovation leaders expect artificial intelligence advancement to usher in what they call ´The Agentic Age,´ characterized by a wave of autonomous systems fundamentally altering communication, work, and digital interfaces. Recent funding rounds for startups in robotics and cloud artificial intelligence also highlight how capital is consolidating around artificial intelligence infrastructure and applications poised for transformative impact.
