By Dealroom.co
Publication Date: 2026-08-24 10:36:00
What’s the deal? Nvidia is in talks to invest in Perplexity as part of an equity round that would value the AI search startup at more than $30 billion, The Information reported, citing people with knowledge of the discussion. The round would be worth billions of dollars and mark Nvidia’s first move to a straight equity stake after it earlier weighed a technology licensing deal and hiring some of Perplexity’s staff.
Why now? The proposed deal follows deepening ties between the two companies and a sharp jump in Perplexity’s revenue. Annualised revenue has climbed past $750 million from less than $250 million at the start of the year, driven largely by Perplexity Computer, an AI agent that automates multi-step professional tasks.
By the numbers: A $30 billion valuation would lift Perplexity more than 50% from its previous financing a year ago. It closed a $23 billion round in January 2026 and a $20 billion round in September 2025, having gone from roughly $1 billion to over $30 billion in about two years.
What’s the endgame? Nvidia has acted as a kind of central bank to the AI sector, backing dozens of companies that rent or buy its chips. A direct stake keeps it close to a product that both burns GPU compute and generates usage data shaping what chips get built next. CEO Jensen Huang has said he uses Perplexity as a go-to chatbot.
What could go wrong? At $750 million in annualised revenue, a $30 billion valuation prices Perplexity near 40 times sales — a multiple…
