Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC:SFTBY) (OTC:SFTBF) is set to invest in the Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos-backed artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI at a valuation of $3 billion, in a bid to bolster its AI portfolio.
What Happened: SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 is planning to invest between $10 million to $20 million in Perplexity AI, a startup that aims to utilize AI to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google search, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
This investment is part of a larger $250 million funding round, which will triple Perplexity’s valuation and position it as one of the industry’s most highly valued companies.
This move underscores SoftBank’s intention to significantly accelerate its AI investment. The company’s founder, Son, recently outlined an ambitious vision for the future of AI, including the realization of “artificial super intelligence.”
See Also: Full story available on Benzinga.com