Perplexity Unveils Enterprise Pro, Secures $62.7M Funding, and Partners with SoftBank & Deutsche Telekom

Perplexity, an AI search engine startup, has announced a substantial $62.7 million funding round, doubling its valuation to over $1 billion and bringing total fundraising to $165 million. Led by Daniel Gross, former head of AI at Y Combinator, and joined by new investors including Stanley Druckenmiller, Garry Tan (CEO of Y Combinator), Dylan Field (CEO of Figma).

Alongside this milestone, the company unveiled its latest offering, Perplexity Enterprise Pro, and solidified partnerships with industry giants SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom to expand its global footprint.

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, emphasized the company's growth trajectory, stating, "We will use the additional funding to grow our usage across consumers and knowledge workers in enterprises." With an impressive track record of serving 169 million queries per month, Perplexity has emerged as a leading AI-native answer engine.

In a strategic move to address enterprise needs, Perplexity introduced Enterprise Pro, its inaugural B2B product, empowering enterprises with unparalleled search capabilities while safeguarding sensitive data. Trusted by leading organizations such as Stripe, Zoom, Bridgewater, Snowflake, and more, Perplexity Enterprise Pro delivers actionable insights across diverse industries, from supporting cancer research to expediting sales processes.

Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks, commended the impact of Perplexity Enterprise Pro on their operations. Perplexity Enterprise Pro has allowed Databricks to substantially accelerate R&D, making it easier for our engineering, marketing, and sales teams to execute faster. We estimate it helps our team save 5k working hours monthly.

Notable features of Enterprise Pro include heightened data privacy, user management capabilities, SOC2 certification, and seamless single sign-on (SSO) integration, with pricing starting at $40/month or $400/year per seat.

Perplexity has formed strategic alliances with SoftBank Corp. and Deutsche Telekom, leveraging their extensive user bases exceeding 335 million customers. These partnerships aim to amplify Perplexity's reach across mobile and broadband services, tapping into a vast market segment.

Jon Abrahamson, Chief Product & Digital Officer at Deutsche Telekom, echoed these sentiments, remarking, "We are thrilled at the opportunity to work with Perplexity as they seek to revolutionize search and access to information. This partnership aligns with our commitment to ensuring that the benefits of technology remain open and accessible to all."

Perplexity is offering its generative AI-powered search engine, revolutionizing information retrieval through a chatbot-style interface. While competitors like Google and OpenAI vie for supremacy in the AI-driven search arena, Perplexity differentiates itself by integrating a diverse array of Large Language Models (LLMs) into its algorithms, ensuring accuracy and depth of response.

Despite its meteoric rise, Perplexity remains steadfast in its mission to deliver innovative AI-driven solutions. With a roster of illustrious investors and a rapidly expanding customer base, Perplexity stands to reshape the future of search and AI-driven technologies.