AI start-up Perplexity now valued at over $18 billion, just months after its most recent funding round — FT.

AI start-up Perplexity now valued at over $18 billion, just months after its most recent funding round — FT.

AI start-up Perplexity has seen its valuation soar to over $18 billion, just months after its most recent funding round, according to Reuters [1]. This significant increase in valuation reflects the growing interest in and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly in the search and answer engine sector.

Perplexity's latest funding round has positioned the company as a leader in the AI space, with its cutting-edge capabilities drawing attention from investors and strategic partners alike. The company's innovative platform offers real-time, conversational responses, setting it apart from traditional search engines that primarily return lists of web links.

The company's valuation surge coincides with its strategic partnership with Bharti Airtel, India's second-largest telecom operator. As part of this collaboration, Airtel is offering a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro to all its 390 million users across mobile, Direct-to-Home (DTH), and broadband services [2]. This partnership is a first-of-its-kind Gen-AI collaboration in India, aimed at making advanced AI capabilities accessible to a broader audience.

The partnership with Airtel is part of Perplexity's broader strategy to expand its adoption in India, the world's second-largest internet market. By aligning with a major telecom provider, Perplexity is leveraging the extensive customer base of Airtel to accelerate its growth and reach more users.

The free subscription offer from Airtel is a strategic move to attract new sign-ups and slow subscriber erosion amid fierce competition with Reliance Jio. The offer includes features such as unlimited daily Pro searches, access to advanced AI models like GPT-4.1 and Claude, deep research and analysis capabilities, file uploads for document-based answers, image generation, and access to Perplexity Labs—a space for testing and building new ideas with AI.

Perplexity's valuation and strategic partnership with Airtel underscore the company's potential to disrupt the search and answer engine market and capitalize on the growing demand for AI-driven solutions. As AI continues to evolve, companies like Perplexity are poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of technology and information access.

References:
[1] Reuters. (2025). AI start-up Perplexity's valuation tops $18 billion months after latest funding round. Retrieved from https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025:newsml_FWN3TE1EL:0-ai-start-up-perplexity-s-valuation-tops-18-billion-months-after-latest-funding-round-ft/
[2] The Economic Times. (2025). Perplexity AI: Here's how Airtel users can avail Perplexity Pro for free. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/perplexity-ai-heres-how-airtel-users-can-avail-perplexity-pro-for-free/articleshow/122621103.cms