Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a small Seattle-based startup specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources, as reported by TechCrunch. This acquisition marks an important step for Perplexity in enhancing its AI-powered capabilities for enterprise applications.
Enhanced Enterprise Search with RAG Technology
The integration of Carbon’s technology will enable Perplexity customers to search through work files and communications in tools like Notion, Google Docs, and Slack. This functionality is anticipated to roll out in early 2025, significantly enhancing the AI search engine’s utility for businesses.
Carbon is known for its retrieval augmented generation (RAG) technology, which empowers large language models to access and retrieve information from third-party sources. This approach provides users with more comprehensive and accurate answers. By incorporating Carbon’s expertise, Perplexity aims to develop search products specifically tailored for enterprise use. These tools will connect generative AI systems with corporate databases, whether stored locally or in the cloud. Employees will benefit from the ability to efficiently search through vast, unstructured datasets accumulated by their organizations over the years.
Growing Competition in Enterprise AI
The enterprise AI search market is becoming increasingly competitive. OpenAI, for instance, has restricted investors in its latest funding round from investing in Glean, a leading service in this sector. Glean’s prominence has spurred companies like OpenAI and Google to accelerate the development of their own enterprise AI search solutions.
Perplexity’s move into this space, bolstered by the acquisition of Carbon, positions it as a strong contender in this rapidly evolving field. We’ll keep you updated as more integrations and advancements become available.
Second Strategic Acquisition
This acquisition is Perplexity’s second major move in recent years, reminds NIXSolutions. In 2023, the company acquired Spellwise, an AI-powered writing application, further demonstrating its commitment to expanding its portfolio of AI-driven solutions.
By leveraging Carbon’s RAG technology, Perplexity aims to deliver cutting-edge tools that meet the growing demand for efficient and intelligent enterprise search capabilities.