SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2 is investing in US artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI at a $3 billion valuation, Masayoshi Son’s latest bet on a sector he deems crucial to securing his legacy.
SoftBank will invest between $10 million and $20 million in the firm, which aims to use AI to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google search, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s investing as part of a larger $250 million funding round that triples Perplexity’s valuation and makes it one of the industry’s most highly valued companies.
The deal underscores how SoftBank’s preparing to sharply accelerate its pace of AI investment.
Its billionaire founder last week laid out a sprawling vision for the future of AI, including a commitment to realize what he called “artificial super intelligence”.
SoftBank’s equity investment shores up an existing business tie-up with Perplexity. Perplexity, which is less than two years old, has distinguished itself from other AI chatbots by providing more real-time information. While its primary service is search, the startup calls itself an “answer engine” as it provides results in text format instead of links.
