Perplexity acquires Carbon to connect AI search to your work files | TechCrunch
Dec 18, 2024 - techcrunch.com
Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a Seattle-based startup specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources, as part of its strategy to enhance enterprise search capabilities. Carbon's expertise in retrieval augmented generation (RAG) will enable Perplexity to integrate AI with enterprise applications like Notion, Google Docs, and Slack, allowing for efficient searches through unstructured data. This acquisition positions Perplexity to potentially launch enterprise search products, a rapidly growing competitive space in AI, where companies like OpenAI and Google are also developing similar technologies.
This marks Perplexity's second acquisition, following its 2023 purchase of Spellwise, aimed at advancing its mobile app development. The move reflects a broader trend in the AI industry, where major players are investing in technologies that enhance AI's ability to access and utilize external databases. The acquisition is expected to bolster Perplexity's answer engine by incorporating diverse data sources, thus improving its functionality in enterprise environments.
Key takeaways:
Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a Seattle-based startup specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources.
This acquisition will enable Perplexity to integrate AI with enterprise applications like Notion, Google Docs, and Slack by early 2025.
Carbon's expertise in retrieval augmented generation (RAG) will help Perplexity develop enterprise search products that access unstructured data.
Enterprise AI search is becoming a competitive field, with companies like OpenAI and Google developing similar products.
