Nvidia in Talks to Back Perplexity at $30B Valuation

Nvidia Eyes a Bigger Stake in the AI Search Race

Nvidia is reportedly in discussions to invest in Perplexity, the AI-powered search startup, as part of an equity round that could value the company at more than $30 billion 17. Citing people familiar with the matter, The Information reported the talks on Sunday, and the figure would mark roughly a 50% jump from Perplexity's valuation in its last financing round 17. Neither the exact size of Nvidia's potential check nor the final terms of the round have been disclosed, but the chipmaker's interest underscores how central AI-native applications have become to its broader investment strategy, which increasingly extends beyond hardware sales into equity stakes in the companies building on top of its chips.

Part of a Broader Surge in AI Valuations

The potential Perplexity deal lands amid a wave of eye-popping valuation jumps across the AI startup landscape. LMArena, a platform for benchmarking and comparing large language models, saw its valuation triple to $1.7 billion in about eight months after raising $150 million in new funding 3. Higgsfield, which makes AI tools for marketing and media content, quadrupled its valuation to $5.4 billion in roughly six months following a $400 million raise led by DST Capital, driven by surging demand for AI-generated content 4. These jumps illustrate a pattern: investors are not just funding AI startups but repeatedly re-upping at dramatically higher valuations within short windows, sometimes just months apart, reflecting intense competition among venture backers to secure stakes in category leaders before prices climb further.

Money Is Flowing Well Beyond Pure AI Plays

The fundraising frenzy isn't confined to AI. EliseAI, an AI-driven proptech company serving the real estate sector, is in talks to raise a new round that could value it at $3.7 billion, with Andreessen Horowitz reportedly involved 5. Outside AI entirely, Devoted Health — a Medicare Advantage-focused insurer co-founded by Ed and Todd Park — is raising a round that could value the company at $25 billion, highlighting continued investor appetite for healthcare technology tied to the aging U.S. population 2. Meanwhile, more speculative ventures such as EliteShares, which promises fractional ownership of luxury real estate and has reportedly reached a $1 billion valuation, are drawing scrutiny over whether their rapid ascent reflects genuine value creation or bubble-like enthusiasm 6.

Why It Matters

Taken together, this string of mega-rounds signals that venture capital is concentrating heavily around a handful of sectors — AI infrastructure and applications, health tech, and proptech — where investors believe transformative growth is most likely. For Perplexity, a Nvidia investment would not only inject capital but also lend strategic validation from one of the most influential players in the AI hardware ecosystem, potentially deepening ties between chipmakers and the software layer built atop their processors. For the broader market, the rapid multiplication of valuations at LMArena and Higgsfield suggests capital is chasing momentum as much as fundamentals, a dynamic that echoes past tech cycles and raises questions — as seen in the EliteShares debate — about how much of this valuation growth reflects durable business value versus speculative enthusiasm.