Perplexity, a leading AI search company, just made a big move by acquiring Carbon. This Seattle-based startup specializes in connecting AI systems to external data sources. The acquisition is set to enhance Perplexity's capabilities significantly.
Key Takeaways:
- Perplexity acquires Carbon: This acquisition allows Perplexity to integrate diverse data sources.
- Enhanced AI search: Users can connect apps like Notion and Google Docs for streamlined workflows.
- Focus on enterprise search: The move hints at Perplexity's expansion into enterprise solutions.
- Increased valuation: Perplexity's valuation has tripled to $9 billion.
- New media partnerships: 15 new media partners have joined Perplexity's Publishers' Program.
This strategic move will allow Perplexity users to directly connect their AI search to apps such as Notion, Google Docs, Slack, and other enterprise applications by early 2025, according to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivasan. Carbon's technology, which uses retrieval augmented generation (RAG), enables large language models to access external databases. This simplifies workflows and enhances the AI's ability to pull insights from diverse data sources.
Carbon's four employees will join the Perplexity team. Carbon CEO Derek Tu expressed that this is a "solid outcome" for the company's investors and team. This integration is expected to reduce the need for users to sift through multiple platforms.
Perplexity's answer engine will consolidate critical insights into cohesive responses. "Carbon will simplify the process for our users to connect the data sources that matter to them," the company explained in a blog post. This move follows a significant funding round that tripled Perplexity's valuation to $9 billion.
The acquisition also signals Perplexity's potential expansion into the enterprise search market. Enterprise AI search is becoming a competitive field. OpenAI and Google are developing their own enterprise search products.
Perplexity has also welcomed 15 new media partners to its Publishers' Program. These partners include ADWEEK, DPReview, and The Independent. They will share in ad-generated revenue and have access to Perplexity's APIs.
Perplexity plans to experiment with ads on its platform. Ads will initially appear in the US and be formatted as sponsored follow-up questions. "Advertising material will be clearly noted as 'sponsored,'" Perplexity stated.
This acquisition builds on a year of growth for Perplexity. It launched Enterprise Pro and features like Spaces and Internal File Search. As Perplexity continues to innovate, it is set to introduce new features in 2025.
Perplexity's acquisition of Carbon is a significant step in enhancing AI search capabilities. Learn more about how AI is transforming research in our article on unlocking research success with Perplexity. Also, explore how Google AI Overviews are changing search results.