Perplexity, a rapidly growing AI search company, has raised $200 million at a $20 billion valuation to further its innovative offerings, including the newly launched Comet browser.

Target Information

Perplexity, a rapidly growing AI search company, has surpassed 230 million monthly active users and is on the verge of reaching an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $200 million—marking a remarkable year-over-year growth of approximately 400%. The platform currently processes over 780 million monthly queries and is expanding its enterprise user base significantly. With the recent global launch of the Comet browser in October 2025, Perplexity has integrated its AI assistant into everyday web navigation, email, and shopping, leading to a dramatic increase in user engagement once deployed. The company has achieved an 82% user retention rate for direct traffic and commands a 6.2% market share of the AI search sector, positioning itself as a formidable competitor to established giants like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft in the evolving landscape of search technology.

Industry Overview

The AI search market is poised for explosive growth, projected to escalate from a valuation of $18.5 billion in 2025 to approximately $66.2 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14%. This surge is driven by the significant shift in user behavior, with a notable 42% of users in the US and Europe now utilizing AI assistants for research instead of conventional search engines. This figure has seen a dramatic rise from 24% just a year prior, indicating a deepening dissatisfaction with traditional search methods.

Contributing to this landscape is the maturation of Large Language Models (LLMs), which have become reliable tools for consumer applications. Innovations in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology allow for real-time infor