Perplexity Acquires Carbon to Enhance Enterprise AI Search Capabilities

Perplexity's Carbon integration will make it easier for enterprises to connect their data to AI search

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More 2024 has been a banner year for Perplexity. The AI search startup, founded by former DeepMind and OpenAI researcher Aravind Srinivas, raised hundreds of millions of dollars -- its latest funding round reportedly valuing the company at $9 billion -- and introduced several notable features, including Pages, Spaces, and innovative shopping experiences. These developments have solidified Perplexity's reputation as an "AI-first" knowledge discovery engine, standing apart from traditional search giants like Google and Bing, which are bolting AI capabilities onto their existing engines. However, the journey is far from over. Facing intensifying competition, Perplexity is broadening its scope with a new addition to its portfolio: Carbon. The company has just acquired this startup, for an undisclosed sum, to address the "data gap" enterprises encounter with AI search and streamline the knowledge discovery process in their workflows. Carbon has developed a comprehensive retrieval framework that streamlines the process of connecting external data sources to LLMs. Users can tap the Carbon universal API or SDKs to sync their data sources and retrieve the data to use with LLMs. It offers native integrations with over 20 data connectors and supports more than 20 file formats, including text, audio and video files. The expanding scope of AI search From individuals to business users, almost everyone today uses AI search as part of their workflows. The idea of the technology is pretty simple -- you don't have to go through a swathe of links and content to find relevant insights and information. Instead, the information will come to you as the direct answer to your query. Perplexity has thrived on this approach, using a range of large language models to retrieve information from the web and simplifying how users work. It even allows teams to extract information from their personal or business files such as PDFs and Word documents. But, here's the thing. The web is home to public information, and uploading internal files -- PDFs, conversations, images -- individually is not feasible for business users dealing with large volumes of proprietary data. This affects the quality of answers, keeping them generic and devoid of important organization-relevant contexts. Highlighting this "data gap," Sanjeev Mohan, the former Gartner Research VP for data and analytics, told VentureBeat that one of the biggest AI trends for 2025 will be ETL for unstructured data. It will allow teams to extract and transform data from dispersed internal sources, ultimately powering their LLMs to generate highly relevant and accurate responses. Now, this is exactly what Perplexity plans to do with the acquisition of Carbon's comprehensive, streamlined retrieval framework. Perplexity will integrate Carbon's retrieval engine and connectors into its tech stack, giving users of the search platform a direct way to plug in their diverse sources of data, from Google Docs and Notion to Hubspot and Slack. This, the company says, will expand the knowledge pool powering the AI search engine, making its responses more comprehensive, relevant and personalized to users. What can users expect from Carbon-powered Perplexity? While Perplexity has just acquired Carbon and the integration is yet to be executed, it's pretty easy to imagine how the additional data connectors will improve the workflows of enterprise teams using the AI search engine. For instance, if one has to move the date for a launch and needs to figure out the latest deadline and guidelines set by their team, Perplexity would be able to parse through all the data in Google Docs, Notion, and Slack -- and make necessary correlations -- to find the information that answers the question. In essence, there would be no more worrying about stitching together context from the web, individual apps, and messages. The platform does everything on its own to provide the answer. "The notable benefit of this setup is that our technology can find the answer without making you pinpoint the document/database where that information is stored," Sara Platnick, who leads communications at Perplexity, told VentureBeat. Another example, she said, could be extracting customer meeting insights. Perplexity would be able to fetch the details and focus of the conversation from connected CRMs in no time. Notably, by leveraging Carbon's retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows, Perplexity is making enterprise search more accessible, saving companies the hassle of building their own RAG pipelines from scratch. "By finding and interpreting proprietary data with Perplexity and Carbon, companies can address a range of multi-faceted gen AI use cases. We find the leading adopters are most focused on customer service, document processing, image processing and recommendation engines, Kevin Petrie," VP of research at BARC US, told VentureBeat. Execution will be key Acquiring Carbon is just the beginning. The real key will be execution, or how seamlessly and safely the startup's tech is integrated. After all, we are talking about proprietary data from some of the most critical knowledge repositories that enterprises maintain. "Companies are rightly wary of exposing their intellectual property to the public. So Perplexity and Carbon will need to provide governance controls that ensure companies can keep their data inside their own firewalls. They have no interest in sharing secrets or training a public model to mimic their intellectual property," Petrie added. On Perplexity's part, Platnick noted that "all information from internal and private sources on the engine is encrypted, as is all data transmitted and stored in Carbon's data connectors." She also pointed out that the company has additional protections to ensure that private documents stay private and aren't accessible to non-authorized users. As of now, there's no specific timeline for the integration of Carbon with Perplexity. However, the startup will cease operations of its managed API on March 31, 2025. Existing customers using the API have already been notified for offboarding, with the Carbon team assisting them in the transition.

Perplexity acquires Carbon to connect AI search to your work files | TechCrunch

Perplexity acquired a small Seattle-based startup called Carbon which specializes in connecting AI systems to external data sources, the companies announced on Wednesday. CEO Aravind Srinivasan says this will allow Perplexity to search through your files and work messages in Notion, Google Docs, Slack, and other enterprise applications sometime in early 2025. Carbon specializes in retrieval augmented generation, or RAG, which allows large language models to access information from external databases before it generates an answer. By bringing Carbon's technology and staff on board, Perplexity could be opening the door to launching enterprise search products. These tools connect generative AI to enterprise databases, allowing employees to quickly search through the mass of unstructured data their companies have acquired over the years. "Carbon will make it easier for Perplexity's answer engine to be informed by diverse sources of information, whether that data resides in internal databases, cloud storage, or document repositories," said Perplexity in a statement. Enterprise AI search is quickly becoming a competitive space in the AI world. OpenAI reportedly told investors in its latest $6.6 billion round that they could not also invest in Glean, the current front runner in enterprise search. Glean has reportedly inspired OpenAI, Google, and several other AI giants to develop their own enterprise search products - and perhaps they've inspired Perplexity as well. This is Perplexity's second acquisition, following its 2023 acquisition of Spellwise, whose CEO was brought on to develop Perplexity's mobile app.

Perplexity Acquires Data Connectivity Startup Carbon

The Carbon team will join Perplexity to accelerate the development of new features and expand the platform's capabilities. AI search engine Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a startup specialising in connecting external data sources to large language models. The acquisition aims to strengthen Perplexity's ability to integrate directly with tools like Notion, Google Docs, and other applications. This would also allow users to streamline workflows and access information from diverse sources, such as internal databases, cloud storage, and document repositories. Commenting on the acquisition, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas shared on LinkedIn, "Starting early next year, Perplexity will not just let you search over the web. It will also connect to your Notion, Docs, Slack, and more. I am excited about the Carbon AI team joining us to work on this." The Carbon team will join Perplexity to accelerate the development of new features and expand the platform's capabilities. This move is part of Perplexity's broader goal to provide personalised AI solutions for users, optimising their workflows across home, work, and mobile environments. Earlier this week, the company announced a three-month full-time residency program in San Francisco for recent graduates and early-stage career professionals. The program offers an opportunity to gain experience in a rapidly evolving AI ecosystem. Perplexity is often touted as a GPT wrapper. Commenting on the nature of wrappers when it comes to value addition, Srinivas further said, "Wrappers are at all levels; it's just that they have given you so much value that you do not care." In 2024, Perplexity launched Enterprise Pro, reasoning capabilities, spaces feature, internal file search, and new search features like shopping insights and live earnings call analysis, among others. Next year, the company aims to improve its answer engine and broaden connectivity options.

OpenAI rival Perplexity acquires Seattle-based start-up, Carbon

The move will enable Perplexity's users to widen their reach and connect to apps such as Notion and Google Docs. AI-powered conversational search engine Perplexity has announced the acquisition of Carbon, a US start-up that operates as a universal retrieval engine for LLMs to access unstructured data from any source. This comes after Perplexity saw its valuation rise to more than $9bn after its latest funding round. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Perplexity was established in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Johnny Ho, Denis Yarats and Andy Konwinski and works by using large language models and web resources to answer questions in real time. Perplexity will continue to work with the entire Carbon team in order to fully integrate new data connectors into the existing tech stack and have stated that the acquisition of Carbon will enable "Perplexity's answer engine to be informed by diverse sources of information, whether that data resides in internal databases, cloud storage, or document repositories". This is the organisation's second acquisition as it previously acquired Spellwise, an AI powered keyboard writer for iOS, a move which allowed the company to further develop its mobile applications. In a statement, a Perplexity spokesperson said, "We're excited to announce that we've acquired Carbon, a retrieval engine that connects external data sources to large language models. "Soon, we'll integrate Carbon's data connectors into our tech stack, allowing users to connect apps like Notion and Google Docs directly to Perplexity. As part of the acquisition, we're excited to welcome all members of the Carbon team to Perplexity to expedite our roadmap and ship new features faster." In June of this year, Japanese investment firm Softbank announced that it would be investing between $10m and $20m into Perplexity as part of a larger funding round that ultimately tripled the start-up's valuation. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Perplexity Acquires Startup That Paves Way for Enterprise Search

AI search company Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a small startup founded last year whose software lets large language models ingest data from a range of different third-party applications. The move underscores Perplexity's growing ambitions in enterprise search, an increasingly crowded market that includes companies like Glean, Google, Snowflake, and OpenAI. In a blog post, Perplexity

Perplexity acquires Carbon, a Seattle startup that helps developers connect data sources to LLMs

Perplexity, an OpenAI rival valued at $9 billion, acquired Carbon, a Seattle startup that helps companies connect external data sources to their large language models. Founded in 2022, Carbon streamlines the way LLMs access unstructured data from third-party applications such as Google Drive and SharePoint. The company's four employees will join San Francisco-based Perplexity, which offers AI search products and has seen its valuation skyrocket this year. "We believe your AI should be personal to you -- at home, work, or on the go -- and data connectivity is a key part of everyone's daily workflows," Perplexity wrote in a blog post. "Carbon will make it easier for Perplexity's answer engine to be informed by diverse sources of information, whether that data resides in internal databases, cloud storage, or document repositories." "In two years, what started out as sketches on a WeWork whiteboard in Seattle transformed into a leading solution used by many Generative AI companies to connect external data to LLMs," Tu wrote on LinkedIn. Tu was previously a tech leader and early employee at Los Angeles e-commerce company Italic, and held product roles at Wayfair, Flywire, and 6sense. He co-founded Carbon with longtime friend Aditya Chempakasseril, who was an engineer at Italic and has a master's in computational science from the University of San Diego.

Perplexity Acquires Carbon, Expands Publisher Program with 15 New Media Partners

Perplexity starts experimenting with ads to generate revenue and support its publisher partners. AI company Perplexity announced on Wednesday, December 18, that it has acquired Carbon, a retrieval engine that connects external data sources to large language models. This acquisition will enable Perplexity users to directly connect apps like Notion and Google Docs, simplifying workflows and enhancing the AI's ability to pull insights from diverse data sources, including internal databases, cloud storage, and document repositories. Perplexity said it will soon integrate Carbon's data connectors into its tech stack. Also Read: Perplexity Launches AI-Powered Election Information Hub for US "We believe your AI should be personal to you -- at home, work, or on the go -- and data connectivity is a key part of everyone's daily workflows. Carbon will make it easier for Perplexity's answer engine to be informed by diverse sources of information, whether that data resides in internal databases, cloud storage, or document repositories," Perplexity said. The integration of Carbon's technology aims to reduce the need for users to sift through multiple platforms to find answers. Instead, Perplexity's answer engine will consolidate critical insights into cohesive responses. "Carbon will simplify the process for our users to connect the data sources that matter to them," the company explained. With the addition of Carbon's team, Perplexity says it will accelerate its roadmap and introduce new features more quickly. This move builds on a year of significant growth for Perplexity, following the launch of Enterprise Pro and new features like Spaces and Internal File Search. The company says it is set for further innovations in 2025. Also Read: Telefonica's Wayra Invests in AI Startup Perplexity, Signs Commercial Agreement Perplexity AI has reportedly closed a USD 500 million funding round that triples the company's valuation to USD 9 billion, Bloomberg reported on December 19, citing a person familiar with the matter. The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners and completed earlier this month. According to the report, Perplexity was valued at USD 1 billion in April. That figure rose to USD 3 billion in June after the startup received an investment from SoftBank Group Vision Fund 2. The new USD 9 billion valuation includes the amount raised in the latest round. In addition to SoftBank, Perplexity is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia. Also Read: Perplexity AI Plans to Raise USD 500 Million in Funding at USD 9 Billion Valuation: Report Earlier this month, Perplexity welcomed 15 new media partners to its Publishers' Program, which the company launched earlier this year to ensure that publishers can benefit and grow together. The new partners include ADWEEK, Blavity, DPReview, Gear Patrol, The Independent, Lee Enterprises, Los Angeles Times, MediaLab, Mexico News Daily, Minkabu Infonoid, NewsPicks, Prisa Media, RTL Germany brands Stern and ntv, and World History Encyclopedia. Perplexity stated that these media brands represent the diverse interests of its international user base and serve as the first partners from the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, and Latin America. The new partners will join existing partners like TIME, Fortune, and Der Spiegel. "As part of the program, these publishers will share in revenue generated from advertising. They'll also have access to our APIs and developer support to build unique features using our proprietary search technology. They will receive free Perplexity Enterprise Pro for their entire organization for a year. Additionally, they'll receive data analytics to help track trends and content performance as long as they remain in the program," Perplexity noted. "Perplexity's first-of-its-kind publisher program reimagines how technology companies and news publishers collaborate, ensuring that media companies can benefit as we continue to grow," said Jessica Chan, Head of Publisher Partnerships. "We would not be able to serve factual, valuable answers without news organisations continuing to report on different topics. We're excited to welcome these new publishers to the program, representing over 25 countries across four continents." The AI company said it will welcome more partners in the coming weeks. Also Read: Perplexity Integrates Search With New AI-Powered Shopping Features Returning to previous updates, Perplexity announced on November 12 that the company will begin experimenting with ads on its platform, saying that "the content of the answers you receive on Perplexity will not be influenced by advertisers." Ads will initially appear in the US and will be formatted as sponsored follow-up questions and paid media positioned to the side of an answer. The AI company said, "Advertising material will be clearly noted as 'sponsored,' and answers to Sponsored Questions will still be generated by our technology, not written or edited by the brands sponsoring the questions." The company has also announced its first brand and agency partners, including Indeed, Whole Foods Market, Universal McCann, PMG, and others. "Ad programs like this help us generate revenue to share with our publisher partners. Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue-sharing program," Perplexity added.