Why is AI Perplexity so coveted by tech giants?

(Dan Tri) - In just three short years since its inception, the name Perplexity has become the center of attention in the technology world.

The AI ​​assistant Perplexity, developed by a US startup, is notable for its feature of providing clear source citations and is valued at $14 billion (Photo: Le Firago).

Amidst the increasingly competitive AI race, Apple and Meta are reportedly approaching Perplexity, while Samsung is also joining the fray.

Founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, an Indian-American software engineer, Perplexity quickly gained popularity for its ability to provide answers with specific source citations and direct links to the original articles.

This makes it easier for users to verify information and delve deeper into the topic by suggesting a series of questions.

Despite its ambition to surpass ChatGPT and Google, Perplexity remains a small company with approximately 20 million queries per day.

However, this capability is attracting significant attention from competitors who are aggressively developing features for summarizing and providing detailed source references.

The race to attract talent and technology.

As Apple fell behind its competitors in the field of AI, the American tech giant considered acquiring Perplexity.

Internal discussions took place involving Adrian Perica, head of M&A (mergers and acquisitions), and Eddy Cue, Apple's Director of Services.

Although the negotiations are still in their early stages and may not lead to an agreement, this would be a strategic move for Apple to accelerate its progress in talent and technology.

Clearly, Apple is being criticized for lagging behind its rivals in the AI ​​race. The release of a new AI-powered version of Siri has been delayed and is expected to launch next spring, while Google, OpenAI, and Meta are continuously releasing new features.

Furthermore, the deal that Google makes its browser the default on Apple devices (generating approximately $20 billion annually) is under threat from US antitrust authorities, making Apple even more in need of an alternative.

However, anything is possible. Apple is also considering partnering with Perplexity instead of acquiring it, integrating the company's search engine into Safari and Siri.

This is also a way to buy time, as long as Apple's biggest rival, Samsung, doesn't "beat" them.

The South Korean tech giant, which has been betting on enhancing AI for smartphones since last year by leveraging Google's technology, is also reportedly considering a $500 million deal with Perplexity.

Regarding this information, Apple declined to comment, while Perplexity stated: "We are unaware of any current or future discussions about selling Perplexity."

In this fierce AI race, Meta also once "coveted" Perplexity but failed to reach an agreement.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg eventually turned his attention to another San Francisco startup, Scale AI, and spent $14.3 billion to acquire a 49% stake.

This deal allows the Meta boss to bring in Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead a new team specializing in generative AI.

Zuckerberg doesn't hesitate to spend money to attract talent; Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) even revealed that some of his employees were offered bonuses of $100 million by Meta.

Perplexity: A money-printing machine

Perplexity, with approximately 200 employees, generated $34 million in revenue last year, partly thanks to discount programs designed to encourage loyal customers.

The company's growth rate has accelerated significantly since the beginning of the year, reaching annual revenue of $100 million in March.

To popularize its assistant, Perplexity is strengthening partnerships with European telecommunications operators such as Bouygues Telecom (France), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), and Telefonica (Spain).

Perplexity is becoming increasingly popular (Photo: ST).

Although the company is still "burning" a considerable amount of money ($65 million last year to utilize cloud servers and AI models purchased from Anthropic and OpenAI), Perplexity is now on track to make money.

Last year, 16% of subscribers paid for their service, compared to 4% for ChatGPT.

The company claims to answer 400 million questions per month and has built a bridge to e-commerce, allowing users to learn about and purchase products directly within the app.

However, Perplexity has also faced numerous accusations of "stealing" content from media outlets.

The company has shifted direction, now intending to strengthen its relationship with newspaper publishers by promoting an advertising revenue-sharing model and has announced several partnerships with French and European media outlets.

However, in the UK, the BBC has threatened to sue Perplexity.

The BBC claims to have evidence that Perplexity's model was "trained using BBC content" and is demanding that the startup remove this content along with a "financial compensation offer" to avoid prosecution.

Previous similar cases came from Forbes, NYT, Dow Jones, and the New York Post, prompting Perplexity to implement a revenue-sharing program with publishers.

Perplexity denies the allegations, arguing that the requests demonstrate a lack of understanding of technology and intellectual property law.

It's clear that the battle between the search engine giant and Silicon Valley startups is still ongoing.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/tai-sao-ai-perplexity-lai-khien-cac-ong-lon-cong-nghe-them-muon-20250625105332517.htm