Nvidia’s Perplexity Talks Are Equity — With a Poolside-Shaped License Option Still on the Table
The Information reported Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity as part of an equity round that would value the AI search and agent startup at more than $30 billion. Reuters relayed the exclusive. Talks, not a signed deal; Nvidia had also considered a licensing-plus-hire structure. Perplexity declined to comment; Nvidia did not immediately respond.
Nvidia keeps writing equity and license checks into the software layer that consumes its racks. A >$30B Perplexity mark would put a search-and-agent company in the same financing neighborhood as mid-tier labs, on $750M ARR — if the round prices.
The Information reported that Nvidia is discussing investing in Perplexity as part of an equity round that would value the startup at more than $30 billion — more than 50% above last year’s ~$20 billion mark (TI, September 2025). Reuters (dateline Aug 23; site stamp Aug 24 03:18 UTC) relayed TI. Perplexity ARR has risen to more than $750 million from under $250 million at the start of 2026, partly from Perplexity Computer. TI: Nvidia had also considered a multibillion-dollar licensing deal plus hiring some staff — the Poolside pattern. Perplexity declined to comment; Nvidia did not immediately respond. No newsroom primary. Label it talks.
What the exclusive said
| Item | The Information Aug 23 + Reuters / PYMNTS |
|---|---|
| Structure | Equity round participation — not signed |
| Valuation | >$30B ( |
| Alt structure considered | License Perplexity tech + hire staff |
| Revenue cited | ARR >$750M (from <$250M YTD) |
| Product named | Perplexity Computer (enterprise agent) |
| Primary | TI exclusive; Nvidia/Perplexity no comment in the wire recap |
Not August 10 $500B compute financing MOUs, not August 17 Groq $350M Series A, not August 20 Poolside $6B Model Factory (that one is a signed license-plus-hire). Lancium / Stargate power ($3B talks) was a first-week-of-August TI exclusive — do not dual-date it here.
Limits
- Talks, not a signed deal — no newsroom primary from either side.
- License-plus-hire remains an alternative considered, not the structure on the table in the exclusive’s lead.
- ARR >$750M is TI-cited; not an audited filing.
Sources
- The Information: Nvidia Discusses Perplexity Investment at $30 Billion-Plus Valuation (August 23, 2026)
- Reuters: Nvidia discusses Perplexity investment at $30 billion-plus valuation, The Information reports (dateline August 23, 2026)
- PYMNTS: Nvidia Considers Backing Perplexity at $30 Billion Valuation (August 24 recap of Sunday report)
- Times of AI:
nvidia-poolside-6-billion-model-factory(August 20)