The AI answer engine going straight at Google — sourced answers instead of ten blue links.
Updated · Analysis by Trace Cohen · www.perplexity.ai
Series E-6, Jan 9, 2026
Series E-6, Jan 9, 2026
reported Aug. 2026, not yet closed
as of Aug. 2026, up from ~$232M end of 2025
by Aravind Srinivas & team
Last priced round was a Series E-6 that closed January 9, 2026 at ~$23B, up from ~$20B in September 2025. As of late August 2026, Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest at a valuation above $30B — more than 50% up from the year-ago mark — though that round has not closed. The investor roster spans Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, SoftBank, IVP, Accel, and NEA.
Perplexity runs a freemium model: a free tier, Pro at $20/month, a Max tier at $200/month, enterprise plans, and a publisher revenue-share program (Comet Plus). The pitch is an 'answer engine' that cites its sources — positioned directly against Google's link-based search.
Its October 2025 move to make the Comet AI browser free worldwide was a distribution land-grab, and the February 2026 launch of Perplexity Computer — a cloud-based AI agent that automates computer tasks — plus usage-based pricing on top of subscriptions pushed ARR from roughly $232M at the end of 2025 to about $750M by August 2026.
Perplexity raised ~$200M at a ~$20B valuation in September 2025, then closed a Series E-6 at ~$23B on January 9, 2026. As of late August 2026, Nvidia is reportedly in talks to back a new round valuing Perplexity above $30B, with some coverage citing a 2028 IPO target — neither the round nor an IPO timeline has been confirmed by the company. Backers include Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, SoftBank, IVP, Accel, NEA, Databricks, and Bessemer.
The primary target — and the incumbent with all the distribution.
The largest consumer AI rival.
Distribution through Windows and Edge.
Direct AI-search competitor.
Perplexity is the boldest bet on the list — attacking search, the best business model in tech history, against an incumbent that can copy any feature overnight. ARR more than tripling to ~$750M in eight months, largely on the back of the Computer agent product, is why Nvidia is reportedly circling a $30B+ round. The bear case writes itself (Google bundles it into Chrome for free); the bull case is that 'sourced answers' plus an agentic layer is a genuinely better product and brand loyalty in AI is realer than people think.
Perplexity's last priced round was a Series E-6 that closed January 9, 2026 at approximately $23 billion, up from $20 billion in September 2025. As of late August 2026, Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest at a valuation above $30 billion, though that round has not closed.
Through subscriptions — Pro ($20/month) and Max ($200/month) — plus enterprise plans and a publisher revenue-share program. Its Comet AI browser became free worldwide in October 2025, and its February 2026 Computer agent product added usage-based revenue on top of subscriptions.
Perplexity's annualized revenue reached roughly $750 million as of August 2026, up from about $232 million at the end of 2025 — driven largely by the February 2026 launch of Perplexity Computer, an AI agent for automating computer tasks.
Its main rivals are Google/Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT Search, Microsoft Copilot/Bing, and You.com — making it one of the most directly-challenged companies in AI.
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Analysis by Trace Cohen · @Trace_Cohen · t@nyvp.com. Figures are as of the update date; verify before relying on them.