South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments committed 150 billion won ($110 million) to Perplexity AI Inc., backing the search startup at a $20 billion valuation that represents a hefty premium over its July fundraising, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investment through Mirae Asset’s U.S. arm adds another Korean name to Perplexity’s shareholder roster alongside Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Telecom Co. The size of the overall funding round wasn’t disclosed, though the valuation marks an 11% increase from the $18 billion the San Francisco-based company achieved just two months ago.
Perplexity’s rapid valuation climb—from $500 million in early 2024 to $20 billion now—reflects investor enthusiasm for AI search technologies that challenge Google’s dominance. The three-year-old startup combines web search with large language models to provide conversational answers rather than traditional link lists.
Yet questions remain about Perplexity’s path to profitability despite reporting more than $100 million in annualized revenue as of March. The company faces mounting competition from established players including Google’s AI Overviews and OpenAI’s SearchGPT feature.
Mirae Asset has positioned itself as the most aggressive AI investor among Korean financial firms, with stakes in chip designer Rebellions Inc. and AI model developer Upstage. The asset manager, which oversees more than $256 billion globally, launched multiple AI-themed exchange-traded funds this year targeting the sector’s growt
