Nvidia eyes billions in Perplexity at a $30B+ valuation

Perplexity's annualized revenue went from under $250M at the start of the year to more than $750M — and that number is why Nvidia is reportedly at the table. The Information says Nvidia is negotiating a multi-billion-dollar investment in a round that would value the AI search startup above $30 billion, up more than 50% from its roughly $20B mark a year ago. Perplexity has raised over $1.7B to date; CEO Aravind Srinivas has floated an IPO around 2028.

A big chunk of the growth comes from Perplexity Computer, the agent product that automates desktop work for professionals — a reminder that the money is moving toward agents doing tasks, not chatbots answering questions. The two companies have been circling each other for a while: Perplexity joined Nvidia's Nemotron Coalition in March, and Nvidia reportedly weighed an acqui-hire of Perplexity's tech and team before landing on a check.

It also fits Nvidia's pattern. Poolside, Groq, Enfabrica — Nvidia keeps funding the companies that turn around and buy its GPUs, so the capital largely loops back as revenue. Nothing is signed yet; terms could still move or collapse.

Why it matters: when your biggest supplier becomes your biggest investor, "AI demand" and "Nvidia's balance sheet" start to look like the same number.