Nvidia has held discussions about taking an equity stake in Perplexity, in talks that valued the AI search start‑up at more than $30 billion investing in Perplexity more than $30 billion. The Information reported the company also weighed a technology licensing deal alongside the proposed funding round.
Reuters captured the same picture, saying Nvidia had discussed an investment in Perplexity at a valuation north of $30 billion discusses Perplexity investment. Multiple outlets picked up the report after the original article appeared.
Perplexity has moved quickly up the valuation ladder in recent years and is now operating at scale, with one industry report noting its annualised revenue has crossed $750 million annualised revenue crosses $750 million. That growth helps explain why a large strategic investor would be interested in a sizeable cheque and in a licensing tie‑up that could anchor access to models or infrastructure.
For Nvidia the move would be familiar strategic terrain: the company already supplies the hardware and software that power large language models, so an investment plus a licence would deepen its presence further up the AI stack. For customers and rivals, the combination of share ownership and a licensing relationship between a dominant chip supplier and an AI service raises immediate commercial and competitive questions.
The discussions come as Nvidia remains a focal point for markets and customers; investors and analysts are watching its results closely even as some large customers have been told of AI‑server price increases above 15% in recent weeks price hikes above 15% Wall Street is counting.
If the talks proceed to a completed deal, it would be another step in the industry trend that pulls chipmakers into software and services, shifting who controls infrastructure, models and commercial access.
