Buckhill Capital has made a strategic investment in Uma Ventures, founded by Ash Shrivastav, to invest in Perplexity AI’s Series D.
Perplexity is a generative AI-powered search engine and information management tool that combines the capabilities of large language models with real-time web search. Perplexity’s innovative approach integrates cutting-edge AI technologies with a user-centric design, delivering contextual and nuanced answers to complex queries rather than traditional keyword-based search results. Perplexity has experienced exponential growth by positioning itself as a major disruptor in the search market and integrator of LLMs.
“When Ash started investing from Uma Ventures, I hoped we could work together again. Perplexity perfectly aligns with our vision of supporting human-centric data systems,” said Henrik Jones, Founder & General Partner of Buckhill Capital. “Buckhill is excited to back Uma Ventures and invest in Perplexity’s expansion of innovative AI work tools that empower users with knowledge and accessibility.”
“Investing together in Perplexity underscores our shared commitment to fostering innovations that empower users,” said Ash Shrivastav, Founder of Uma Ventures. “ We are also pleased to welcome Henrik as a Special Limited Partner & Advisor to Uma Ventures.”
Perplexity was founded in 2022 by CEO Aravind Srinivas and a team of engineers with deep AI experience from OpenAI, Databricks, and Meta. Perplexity champions transformative, human-centric, and responsible AI systems by redefining how knowledge is accessed and shaping the very future of information retrieval and dissemination.
PerplexityAI’s platform features several groundbreaking innovations:
- AI-Generated Answers with Citations: Perplexity provides direct answers to user queries, complete with citations to source material, enhancing transparency and credibility.
- Multi-Model AI Selection: Users can choose between different AI models, including Perplexity’s proprietary fine-tuned model, OpenAI’s GPT-4, and others, catering to diverse user preferences and use cases.
- Ethical Revenue Sharing: Perplexity has implemented a revenue-sharing model with content publishers, addressing concerns about fair compensation for content used in AI training and responses.
Ash Shrivastav commented further: “We are particularly excited about the platform’s potential applications in education, research, and professional services, where accurate and accessible information is critical. As PerplexityAI continues to innovate, we believe it has the potential to reshape the search engine market and challenge the dominance of traditional search platforms.”
About PerplexityAI: PerplexityAI is a knowledge search engine that transforms online information retrieval. Founded in 2022, it combines advanced language models with real-time web searches to provide accurate, comprehensive, and cited answers to user queries. Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity AI offers a conversational interface that synthesizes information from multiple sources, presenting concise, relevant responses with inline citations. Learn more at www.perplexity.ai
About Uma Ventures: Uma Ventures is an early-stage investment firm dedicated to investing in human-centric foundational technologies that benefit humanity. Learn more at www.umaventures.com
About Buckhill Capital: Buckhill invests in people on a mission to build sustainable systems and healthy communities. Buckhill provides expansion stage capital for companies with commercially- proven products. Learn more at www.buckhillcapital.com