Nvidia is in discussions to invest in artificial intelligence search startup Perplexity as part of a new equity funding round that could value the company at more than $30 billion, according to reports.
The proposed financing would be worth several billion dollars and represent an increase of more than 50% from Perplexity's previous financing, which valued the company at around $20 billion in 2025. The size of Nvidia's potential investment has not been disclosed, and the discussions have not yet resulted in a final deal.
The talks come as Perplexity expands beyond its AI-powered search engine into agentic AI products designed to perform tasks on behalf of users. The company's annualised revenue has increased to more than $750 million from less than $250 million at the beginning of 2026.
Part of that growth has been attributed to Perplexity Computer, its cloud-based AI agent aimed at professional users. The product is designed to automate computer-based tasks, extending Perplexity's offering beyond conversational search into AI-driven workflow automation.
Nvidia and Perplexity have already developed commercial ties. Perplexity has said it plans to use Nvidia's Vera CPUs for agentic AI queries and has previously entered into an agreement to access Nvidia chips through cloud infrastructure provider CoreWeave.
Nvidia had earlier considered a different arrangement with Perplexity involving paying billions of dollars to license some of the startup's technology and hiring some of its employees, according to The Information. Those discussions subsequently shifted towards a more conventional equity investment.
The potential investment would add to Nvidia's expanding portfolio of bets across the artificial intelligence ecosystem. The chipmaker has invested in several AI companies as demand for computing infrastructure grows alongside the development and adoption of generative and agentic AI applications.
Perplexity, founded in 2022 and led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, built its initial business around an AI-powered search experience that provides synthesised responses to user queries with citations to online sources. The company has since expanded its products as competition intensifies across AI search and autonomous agents.
Perplexity declined to comment on the reported investment discussions, while Nvidia did not immediately comment, according to Reuters.
The startup is also considering the public markets. Srinivas said in June that Perplexity plans to pursue an initial public offering in 2028, irrespective of how the market receives potential listings from OpenAI and Anthropic.
If completed, the latest funding round would mark another sharp increase in Perplexity's valuation as investors continue to direct capital towards companies developing AI search, agents and enterprise automation products.
Disclaimer: This article may include information derived from interviews, press releases, public statements, research, company communications and other publicly available or third-party sources. Such material may be summarised, paraphrased or contextualised for journalistic and editorial purposes. All rights in third-party content remain with their respective owners.