Perplexity AI, a search engine that uses AI to answer questions, is reportedly in talks to secure $500 million in funding.

According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, the move would value the firm at $14 billion.

Sources at the newspaper said that venture capital firm Accel is leading the funding round, with the new valuation skyrocketing the company's value from a previous $9 billion in early 2025.

Last week, Reuters reported that Apple executive Eddy Cue had recently confirmed that the tech giant is currently in talks with Perplexity, OpenAI and Anthropic to integrate their AI-based search capabilities into Safari.

The executive said he thinks AI-powered search engines, including Perplexity, will eventually replace standard search engines.

Reuters also reported in March that the AI company was in talks to raise between $500 million and $1 billion at a valuation of $18 billion.

Since its inception in August 2022, Perplexity AI has secured significant investment from major players in the tech and financial world, including Softbank, NVIDIA, Wayra, IVP, New Enterprise Associates, Databricks, Bessemer Venture Partners, Kindred Ventures and several individual investors.

In June 2024, SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund 2 invested in Perplexity AI, valuing the company at $3 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report.

The company recently launched an AI-powered shopping assistant for its users in the United States that creates product cards showing relevant items and details in a visual format when specific questions are asked.

Perplexity said these recommendations are not sponsored but personalised for each individual search.

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