Perplexity Stock: Searching for Hints of a Perplexity IPO

Explore ways to invest in Perplexity stock before the Perplexity IPO. Get access to select pre-IPO startups like Databricks (Perplexity investor), Anthropic, and Anduril via the Fundrise Innovation Fund*. 

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Notable Perplexity News

12/18/2024: Perplexity acquires Carbon
12/18/2024: Perplexity Closes Funding Round at $9 Billion Value
11/12/2024: Perplexity brings ads to its platform
11/05/024: Perplexity Nears $9 Billion Valuation
Older news…

About Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI startup founded in 2022 that has a mission to democratize access to knowledge by unraveling complex queries and providing users with precise and informative answers.

The company was founded by Aravind Srinivas, Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats, and Johnny Ho. Srinivas previously worked at DeepMind, Google, and OpenAI before founding Perplexity. By entering the search space dominated by Google, Srinivas is looking to improve upon existing models by focusing on accuracy and transparency.

Perplexity’s search engine provides answers to search queries backed by attributed sources. It also offers suggested queries the user may find helpful and organizes the information in a modern format. Users can sign in to save threads and try Discovery mode to explore the web. 

The technology backing the tool includes multiple LLM models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT4, Google’s Gemini Pro, Anthropic’s Claude 2.1, Mistral Large, and an exclusive Perplexity AI model for paying subscribers. 

It also created Perplexity Copilot, an interactive AI search companion that gives in-depth answers and personalized responses — a digital assistant powered by the most advanced AI models that provide concise answers to save users time. Here’s a peek at Copilot.

Ownership

Perplexity is a venture-backed private company. Its primary owners are the co-founders, venture capital firms, technology companies, and employees.

Prominent venture capital investors include New Enterprise Associates, Institutional Venture Partners, Bezos Expeditions Fund, NVIDIA, Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, Databricks Ventures, Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, Kindred Ventures, Daniel Gross, Stan Druckenmiller, Garry Tan, Andrej Karpathy, Dylan Field, NEA, Jakob Uszkoreit, Brad Gerstner, Lip-Bu Tan, and SoftBank.

IPO Potential

The Perplexity IPO date is currently unknown and likely a few years away.

Having raised only two funding rounds since 2022, it is close to raising a new round of private money in late 2024. That brings it a step closer to an IPO. It may also be an acquisition candidate.

Executives have yet to indicate what lies ahead, including the potential for an IPO or acquisition. We’ll be monitoring comments by company leadership about its public ambitions.   

Perplexity is seen as an alternative to Google’s decades-long grip on search. Many of the tech behemoth’s rivals would love to own this company if it can continue to take market share. 

I’ll update this webpage with the latest information when it becomes available. 

Funding Rounds

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Valuation

The latest confirmed Perplexity valuation is $9 billion based on a funding round that was closed in December 2024. 

The Wall Street Journal reported in late October 2024 that Perplexity aimed to raise $500 billion at an $8 billion valuation. The Information later informed readers the round is closer to $9 billion.

Perplexity has raised more than $400 million in venture capital funds to date. 

How to Invest in Perplexity Stock

Since Perplexity is a private company that still has a relatively small valuation, it is challenging to become an equity owner today.

However, by taking the actions outlined below, you can increase your chances of early equity ownership or obtaining shares in the IPO.

Accredited investors will have an easier time using pre-IPO investing platforms. Non-accredited investors can look to venture capital funds for access to pre-IPO companies. 

1. Access Perplexity stock via pre-IPO investing platforms

The author has seen limited evidence of opportunities to invest in Perplexity stock on pre-IPO investing platforms. 

Approaching an $9 billion valuation and growing quickly, early investors may start looking to liquidate shares. 

For direct ownership, platforms like Hiive provide accredited investors access to pre-IPO startups through a marketplace of buyers and sellers. 

Investors interested in direct ownership can monitor Hiive and other pre-IPO platforms, including Linqto, EquityZen, Equitybee, and Forge Global for current share availability. 

Early investors or employees may sell shares before the IPO.

Minimum investments on these platforms range from $2,500 to $50,000 or more. 

Accessing pre-IPO data, deal alerts, and expressing interest in unavailable startups is free when signing up online.

2. Access Perplexity via Venture Capital Funds

Non-accredited retail investors are excluded from most pre-IPO marketplaces and direct ownership. 

However, non-accredited investors can own pre-IPO companies by investing in venture capital funds like the Fundrise Innovation Fund (review). 

This fund owns pools of private companies that would be otherwise inaccessible. 

There are limitations. Investors cannot select individual pre-IPO companies, and Perplexity stock is currently not in the portfolio. Monitor the portfolios for the latest holdings. 

The minimum investment for the Fundrise Innovation Fund is $10.

I’ll be monitoring the fund to see if it acquires an equity position in Perplexity. 

Check out our list of top pre-IPO investing platforms for current share availability across platforms. 

Please note: This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on AccessIPOs.com. All opinions are my own.

3. Buy Databricks or NVIDIA

Indirect investing in pre-IPOs is the easiest and lowest-risk way to gain investment exposure. However, upside potential is very limited. 

Databricks NVIDIA (NVDA) and have made venture capital investments in Perplexity. Therefore, retail investors can buy those stocks for indirect exposure.

Databricks is a private company, but it’s one of the most liquid pre-IPO startups out there. Private shares are readily available on platforms like Hiive. The Fundrise Innovation Fund hold Databricks, so investors can own the fund to gain investment exposure to Perplexity. 

Retail investors can buy NVIDIA stock on the public market to gain exposure to Perplexity equity. However, NVIDIA is a huge company, and the exposure is negligible. 

4. Buy the stock after the IPO

Most investors will not acquire pre-IPO shares or receive an allocation during the IPO. They will need to wait until an IPO to buy the stock in the open market. 

Investing after the IPO has advantages. The market-based pricing and regulated filings reduce investor risk. Furthermore, public numbers make it easier for retail investors to perform due diligence before investing. 

Avoid chasing over-inflated share prices immediately after the IPO. Stock price declines after IPOs can be excellent entry points.

Be selective and patient. The most disruptive companies are likely to experience higher valuations a decade from now.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Perplexity Stock Publicly Traded?

No. Perplexity is a private company. 

What is the Perplexity Stock Symbol?

There is no Perplexity stock symbol. Perplexity is a private company that has not filed for an IPO. 

Here are a few suggested Perplexity ticker symbols: 

• PLEX
• PPLX

Private companies reserve stock symbols leading up to their SEC filings. Investors learn the symbols once the filings are released to the public.

What is the Perplexity Stock Price?

A public Perplexity stock price is not available because it is a private company. 

However, the Series C funding round completed at $119 per share. The anticipated $8 billion round reported by the Wall Street Journal could price the shares as high as $320. 

Monitor the Hiive pre-IPO marketplace for trade data as transactions emerge. 

Where is the Perplexity S-1 Filing?

Perplexity has yet to release an S-1 filing to the public. 

The company may be weighing its options regarding an acquisition versus a public path. 

The announcement of a confidential or public S-1 filing would start the IPO process and give Wall Street an idea of where the company resides in the IPO pipeline.

When the company releases the S-1 filing to investors, we’ll link to and embed the document on this web page.

In the meantime, you can check out the most recent S-1 filings in our S-1 filings feed. 

Perplexity AI News Archive

10/20/2024: Perplexity Aims to Raise $500 million at $8 Billion Valuation
06/27/2024: SoftBank to Back Perplexity at $3 Billion Valuation
05/02/2024: Does Perplexity’s “answer engine” threaten Google?
04/23/2024: AI Search Startup Perplexity Valued at $1 Billion
04/23/2024: Perplexity is raising $250M+ at a $2.5B-$3B valuation
04/01/2024: Perplexity Has a Plan to Sell Ads
03/28/2024: Here’s why AI search engines really can’t kill Google
03/10/2024: Bezos’s investment in Perplexity AI has nearly doubled
03/05/2024: Perplexity Set to Double Valuation to $1 Billion
01/04/2024: Perplexity Raises Series B
01/04/2024: Perplexity AI valued at $520 million
04/04/2023: Perplexity AI lands $26M, launches iOS app

Conclusion

Retail investors often become interested in buying startups riding extraordinary macroeconomic and technology trends (AI, search disruptors) before they go public. 

However, acquiring ownership in Perplexity and similar companies is challenging for retail investors, especially non-accredited ones, due to regulations and high demand for shares. Perplexity is also relatively new, and its valuation will need to grow before private shares become more available. 

Pre-IPO investing platforms have opened more opportunities for retail investors. However, availability is still limited. Monitor platforms for the latest availability. 

Investors will likely hit roadblocks trying to obtain pre-IPO shares or IPO shares if the company chooses a public offering. 

Perplexity has recently taken advantage of the private AI funding bonanza and may need more private money soon to grow. The company may also be susceptible to changes to LLMs such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Mistral Large. It is building an in-house model to mitigate this risk. 

The company may also watch developments of the potential upcoming Cerebras IPO. Cerebras is another AI company aiming to raise private funds and IPO in 2024. The outcome of its fundraising activities could influence Perplexity. 

If you want to pursue pre-IPO equity in Perplexity, look first to pre-IPO platforms. As Perplexity grows and early employees seek liquidity, more availability may emerge.

Good luck if you wish to buy Perplexity stock before the Perplexity IPO. Invest in pre-IPO and IPO companies at your own risk.