According to a CNBC report, Perplexity, the company behind an AI-powered search engine, is raising $50 million for a seed and pre-seed investment fund. Perplexity is utilizing some of the money it raised for the company’s expansion to anchor the fund, even though restricted partners provide the majority of the funding. According to reports, Perplexity raised $500 million in December at a valuation of $9 billion.
The PitchBook data shows how the general partners Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, who co-founded the early-stage venture firm F7 Ventures in 2018, are in charge of managing Perplexity’s fund. F7 has made investments in new businesses, such as Midi, a women’s wellness company. Whether Graziadei and Shevelenko will continue to manage F7 or devote all of their time to Perplexity’s venture fund is unclear.
Additionally, OpenAI oversees the OpenAI Startup Fund, an investment fund. OpenAI asserts, however, that it does not make these investments with its own funds, in contrast to Perplexity.
