# Nvidia’s Perplexity Talks Are Equity — With a Poolside-Shaped License Option Still on the Table

Times of AI Desk · 2026-08-23 · Work

[https://timesof.ai/2026/08/nvidia-perplexity-30-billion-investment-talks](https://timesof.ai/2026/08/nvidia-perplexity-30-billion-investment-talks)

> 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** (~**+50%** vs **~$20B** last year) |
| **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)](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/nvidia-discusses-perplexity-investment-30-billion-plus-valuation-considered-tech-licensing-deal)
- [Reuters: Nvidia discusses Perplexity investment at $30 billion-plus valuation, The Information reports (dateline August 23, 2026)](https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-discusses-perplexity-investment-30-billion-plus-valuation-information-2026-08-24/)
- [PYMNTS: Nvidia Considers Backing Perplexity at $30 Billion Valuation (August 24 recap of Sunday report)](https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/nvidia-considers-backing-perplexity-30-billion-dollar-valuation/)
- Times of AI: `nvidia-poolside-6-billion-model-factory` (August 20)