SoftBank Group¡¯s Vision Fund 2 is investing in U.S. artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI at a $3 billion (?481.4 billion) valuation, Masayoshi Son¡¯s latest bet on a sector he deems crucial to securing his legacy.
SoftBank will invest between $10 million and $20 million in the firm, which aims to use AI to compete with Alphabet¡¯s Google search, according to people familiar with the matter. It¡¯s investing as part of a larger $250 million funding round that triples Perplexity¡¯s valuation and makes it one of the industry¡¯s most highly valued companies.
The deal underscores how SoftBank is preparing to sharply accelerate its pace of AI investment. Its billionaire founder last week laid out a sprawling vision for the future of AI, including a commitment to realize what he called ¡°artificial superintelligence.¡± Son talked about creating AI thousands of times smarter than any human, making his most grandiose pronouncements since SoftBank retreated from the market following a string of ill-timed startup bets.
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