Perplexity Acquires Carbon to Expand AI-Powered Enterprise Search Capabilities

AI startup Perplexity announced the acquisition of Carbon, a Seattle-based company specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources, signaling a significant step toward entering the competitive field of enterprise AI search.

Carbon’s expertise lies in retrieval augmented generation (RAG), a technology that allows AI systems to pull information from external databases before generating answers. This acquisition enables Perplexity to integrate its answer engine with enterprise applications such as Notion, Google Docs, and Slack, with these features expected to launch in early 2025.

What the Acquisition Means for Perplexity

With Carbon’s technology, Perplexity will be equipped to connect generative AI systems to vast troves of unstructured data housed in enterprise databases, document repositories, and cloud storage.

“Carbon will make it easier for Perplexity’s answer engine to be informed by diverse sources of information,” the company stated.

By integrating RAG technology, Perplexity is poised to offer enterprise users faster, more precise tools for searching through years of accumulated internal data.

The Competitive Landscape of Enterprise AI Search

Enterprise search is becoming a hotly contested space, with major players like OpenAI, Google, and Glean vying for dominance. OpenAI recently restricted investors from supporting Glean, a current leader in enterprise AI search, as it develops its own competing solutions.

Perplexity’s move into this domain could add further competition to the mix. With Carbon’s technology and staff now onboard, the company is better positioned to challenge established players and explore a growing market where businesses increasingly seek to make better use of their unstructured data.

Perplexity’s Growth Through Acquisitions

This marks Perplexity’s second acquisition, following its 2023 purchase of Spellwise, which focused on enhancing its mobile app. The Carbon acquisition suggests a broader strategy to diversify offerings and address the needs of enterprise clients.

As enterprise search emerges as a critical application of AI, Perplexity’s investment in Carbon signals its ambition to become a major contender in this transformative industry.