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, Anthropic, and Anduril via the Fundrise Innovation Fund. 

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Notable Perplexity News

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
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, and Lip-Bu Tan.

IPO Potential

The Perplexity IPO date is currently unknown and likely a few years away. Having raised only two funding rounds since 2022, it will likely raise more private money before pursuing a public route. It may also be a takeover candidate. 

The company proliferated in 2023 and is still catching up to its newfound popularity. 

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. 

Valuation

The latest confirmed Perplexity valuation is $1 Billion based on the April 2024 funding round announced announced on April 23rd. 

However, earlier that same day, TechCrunch reported Perplexity is raising $250 million at a $2-$3 billion valuation. 

Perplexity has raised $100 million 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 yet to see evidence of opportunities to invest in Perplexity stock on pre-IPO investing platforms. 

At a $520 million valuation and growing quickly, early investors are along for the ride. I don’t expect to see a lot of activity until the Series C round. 

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 EquityZen, Equitybee, Forge Global, and Linqto, for current share availability. 

Early investors or employees may sell shares before the IPO.

A minimum investment of $10,000 is required, and pre-IPO investors must be SEC-accredited with a net worth over $1 million (excluding primary residence) or income exceeding $200,000 (or $300,000 with a spouse).

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

2. Access Via Venture Capital Funds

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

However, non-accredited investors can circumvent the accreditation requirement to own pre-IPO companies by owning 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 either portfolio. Monitor the portfolios for the latest holdings. 

The minimum investment for the Fundrise Innovation Fund is $10, and for the ARK Venture Fund, it is $500.

I’ll be monitoring these funds to see if either 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. Both the Fundrise Innovation Fund and ARK Venture Fund hold Databricks, so investors can own either to gain exposure.  

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. 

The company is still young, and the private share marketplaces have not seen much activity since the January 2024 funding round.

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

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.

* Disclosure: The web page contains affiliate links from our partners. If a reader opens an account or buys a service from a link in this article, we may be compensated at no additional cost to the reader. Opening an account with a broker that provides access to IPOs does not guarantee the customer allocations of specific IPOs. The author is long HOOD, the Fundrise Innovation Fund, and the ARK Venture Fund.