Nvidia Reportedly in Talks to Back Perplexity Above $30 Billion as Revenue Run Rate Triples
Nvidia Reportedly in Talks to Back Perplexity Above $30 Billion as Revenue Run Rate Triples
Nvidia is reportedly in discussions to invest in AI search startup Perplexity at a valuation exceeding $30 billion, according to a report from The Information that has since been relayed by Reuters, Yahoo Finance, and other outlets. If finalized, the talks would mark a significant escalation in valuation for the company, though it's worth emphasizing that neither party has confirmed any deal terms publicly.
Nvidia in Talks to Invest in Perplexity at $30 Billion-Plus Valuation
Per the original reporting, Nvidia is said to be discussing a potential investment that would value Perplexity at more than $30 billion. The report was picked up and amplified by additional outlets including The Decoder and Analytics India Magazine, suggesting broader industry attention to the story even as underlying details remain unverified.
Neither Nvidia nor Perplexity has confirmed the talks. Perplexity reportedly declined to comment, and Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment. As such, the structure, terms, and timeline of any potential agreement remain attributed to anonymous sourcing rather than confirmed by either company.
Revenue Run Rate Reportedly Triples
A recurring theme in the coverage is Perplexity's reported revenue trajectory. The Information reports that the company's annualized revenue run rate grew from under $250 million to more than $750 million this year. This figure has not been independently verified by Perplexity itself, but it is frequently cited as a key factor underpinning the reported valuation increase.
Context from prior reporting suggests Perplexity was valued at approximately $20 billion following a funding round in September, according to earlier coverage from The Information. If accurate, the jump to a $30 billion-plus valuation under discussion would represent a substantial increase in a relatively short window.
A Related Signal: Perplexity's $750 Million Azure Deal With Microsoft
Separately, Bloomberg first reported that Perplexity signed a $750 million cloud computing agreement with Microsoft Azure. That report has since been corroborated by Reuters, Business Standard, U.S. News, Yahoo Finance, and Winbuzzer, lending it a somewhat broader base of confirmation than the Nvidia investment talks.
Notably, reporting indicates this Azure agreement comes amid a separate dispute between Perplexity and AWS. Some observers frame this as a distinct but concurrent development, one that may reflect broader infrastructure and capital demands as Perplexity continues to scale its operations.
What Remains Unconfirmed
It's important to underscore that all of the financial figures discussed here — the $30 billion-plus valuation, the reported tripling of revenue, and the $750 million Azure deal size — are attributed to anonymous sources or secondary reporting chains. None have been confirmed on the record by Nvidia, Perplexity, or Microsoft.
Early seed reporting referenced a possible tech licensing component tied to the Nvidia discussions; however, this detail was not substantiated in subsequently verified reporting and should be treated as unconfirmed speculation rather than an established fact.
Additional context comes from independent research and aggregator sources, including Sacra's company research and Tracxn's funding database, which track Perplexity's revenue trajectory and funding history separately from news reporting. These sources offer analyst-style context but do not themselves confirm the specific claims at the center of the current reports.
Why It Matters
If accurate, the reported talks would fit a broader pattern of Nvidia making strategic investments across the AI infrastructure and application layer, extending its influence beyond chip supply into equity stakes in companies building on top of its hardware.
The reported rapid revenue growth and rising valuation reflect what many in the industry describe as intensifying investor interest in AI search and answer-engine startups more broadly. Meanwhile, the concurrent dispute between Perplexity and AWS, set against the new Azure agreement, points to competitive dynamics among major cloud providers as they court fast-growing AI companies.
Separately, Perplexity's CEO has previously discussed plans to pursue a public listing by 2028, according to earlier CNBC reporting. Taken together, these threads suggest a longer-term trajectory that may be shaping the company's current fundraising posture, even as the specific details of the Nvidia talks remain unconfirmed.