Nvidia in talks to invest in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion

Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion, more than 50% higher than the level of its last funding round. The Information reported the talks, and The Decoder published the details.

What we know about the deal

The exact size of the investment has not been disclosed. Talks are ongoing, and the terms may change. The key point is that Perplexity's valuation in the proposed deal exceeds $30 billion, while the company was valued noticeably lower in its previous round.

Perplexity has arguments for such a revaluation. Its annualized recurring revenue (ARR) has tripled to more than $750 million. The AI search engine is expanding its product line aggressively: beyond its core search with cited sources, the company is building the Comet browser, enterprise subscriptions, and an API for developers.

• The valuation under discussion is above $30 billion, 50%+ higher than the last round
• Perplexity's annualized revenue has tripled to more than $750 million
• The source is The Information; the parties have not commented on the deal

Investments that come back around

The Decoder points to a pattern that analysts increasingly discuss: a significant share of Nvidia's investment money returns to Nvidia as revenue. Portfolio companies that receive funding spend it on compute, which means Nvidia's own chips, either directly or through cloud providers.

This circular mechanism has been the signature of Nvidia's expansion over the past two years. The company has invested in OpenAI, xAI, CoreWeave, and dozens of smaller AI startups, and almost every one of them is a major buyer of its accelerators. Critics call it the "carousel economy" of the AI boom: capital circulates within a narrow circle of players, inflating valuations and revenue at the same time.

What this means

For Perplexity, a deal with Nvidia brings more than money. It is also a strategic shield: a direct link to the industry's main compute supplier is worth a great deal when you compete with Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic at once. For Nvidia, it is a bet on the AI application layer: the company already controls the infrastructure, and now it is systematically buying stakes in the companies that build products on top of it. One question will stay open until the deal closes: how much of the $30 billion valuation reflects a real business, and how much is reflected light from Nvidia itself.

Frequently asked questions

What does Perplexity do?

Perplexity builds an AI search engine that answers questions with full responses and links to sources, rather than a list of links. The company has also released the Comet browser with a built-in assistant and sells access to its models through an API.

Why are Nvidia's investments controversial?

Because the money often returns to Nvidia itself: portfolio companies spend the funds they raise on its chips. Skeptics see this as artificial demand inflation, while supporters see a logical vertical strategy from the market leader.