AI company Perplexity announced on Wednesday, December 18, that it has acquired Carbon, a retrieval engine that connects external data sources to large language models. This acquisition will enable Perplexity users to directly connect apps like Notion and Google Docs, simplifying workflows and enhancing the AI's ability to pull insights from diverse data sources, including internal databases, cloud storage, and document repositories. Perplexity said it will soon integrate Carbon's data connectors into its tech stack.
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Acquires Data Connectivity Startup Carbon
"We believe your AI should be personal to you — at home, work, or on the go — and data connectivity is a key part of everyone's daily workflows. Carbon will make it easier for Perplexity's answer engine to be informed by diverse sources of information, whether that data resides in internal databases, cloud storage, or document repositories," Perplexity said.
The integration of Carbon's technology aims to reduce the need for users to sift through multiple platforms to find answers. Instead, Perplexity's answer engine will consolidate critical insights into cohesive responses. "Carbon will simplify the process for our users to connect the data sources that matter to them," the company explained.
With the addition of Carbon's team, Perplexity says it will accelerate its roadmap and introduce new features more quickly. This move builds on a year of significant growth for Perplexity, following the launch of Enterprise Pro and new features like Spaces and Internal File Search. The company says it is set for further innovations in 2025.
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Closes Funding at USD 9 Billion Valuation
Perplexity AI has reportedly closed a USD 500 million funding round that triples the company's valuation to USD 9 billion, Bloomberg reported on December 19, citing a person familiar with the matter. The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners and completed earlier this month.
According to the report, Perplexity was valued at USD 1 billion in April. That figure rose to USD 3 billion in June after the startup received an investment from SoftBank Group Vision Fund 2. The new USD 9 billion valuation includes the amount raised in the latest round. In addition to SoftBank, Perplexity is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.
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15 New Media Partners
Earlier this month, Perplexity welcomed 15 new media partners to its Publishers' Program, which the company launched earlier this year to ensure that publishers can benefit and grow together.
The new partners include ADWEEK, Blavity, DPReview, Gear Patrol, The Independent, Lee Enterprises, Los Angeles Times, MediaLab, Mexico News Daily, Minkabu Infonoid, NewsPicks, Prisa Media, RTL Germany brands Stern and ntv, and World History Encyclopedia.
Perplexity stated that these media brands represent the diverse interests of its international user base and serve as the first partners from the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, and Latin America. The new partners will join existing partners like TIME, Fortune, and Der Spiegel.
"As part of the program, these publishers will share in revenue generated from advertising. They'll also have access to our APIs and developer support to build unique features using our proprietary search technology. They will receive free Perplexity Enterprise Pro for their entire organization for a year. Additionally, they’ll receive data analytics to help track trends and content performance as long as they remain in the program," Perplexity noted.
"Perplexity's first-of-its-kind publisher program reimagines how technology companies and news publishers collaborate, ensuring that media companies can benefit as we continue to grow," said Jessica Chan, Head of Publisher Partnerships. "We would not be able to serve factual, valuable answers without news organisations continuing to report on different topics. We're excited to welcome these new publishers to the program, representing over 25 countries across four continents."
The AI company said it will welcome more partners in the coming weeks.
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Ads on Perplexity
Returning to previous updates, Perplexity announced on November 12 that the company will begin experimenting with ads on its platform, saying that "the content of the answers you receive on Perplexity will not be influenced by advertisers."
Ads will initially appear in the US and will be formatted as sponsored follow-up questions and paid media positioned to the side of an answer. The AI company said, "Advertising material will be clearly noted as 'sponsored,' and answers to Sponsored Questions will still be generated by our technology, not written or edited by the brands sponsoring the questions."
The company has also announced its first brand and agency partners, including Indeed, Whole Foods Market, Universal McCann, PMG, and others.
"Ad programs like this help us generate revenue to share with our publisher partners. Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue-sharing program," Perplexity added.
