Perplexity Acquires Carbon to Enhance AI Enterprise Search

Perplexity, the AI-powered search platform, has acquired Carbon, a Seattle-based startup specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources. Announced on Wednesday, the acquisition aims to integrate Carbon’s retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology into Perplexity’s answer engine, enabling enterprise-level search capabilities.

Connecting AI to Enterprise Applications

Carbon’s expertise in RAG allows large language models to retrieve relevant information from external databases before generating answers. By integrating this technology, Perplexity plans to launch new enterprise search tools by early 2025. These tools will connect Perplexity’s generative AI capabilities to enterprise platforms like Notion, Google Docs, Slack, and other applications, helping users efficiently search through unstructured data, files, and work messages.

According to Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivasan, the goal is to:

“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.”

A Growing Competitive Space

Enterprise AI search is rapidly emerging as a highly competitive sector. OpenAI, Google, and other tech giants are reportedly developing their own enterprise search products to compete with leaders like Glean. Perplexity’s acquisition of Carbon positions it to join this competitive landscape by providing a solution that bridges AI and enterprise workflows.

Building on Past Acquisitions

This marks Perplexity’s second acquisition, following its 2023 acquisition of Spellwise. The Spellwise team contributed to developing Perplexity’s mobile app, showcasing the company’s strategy of acquiring specialized talent and technology to enhance its offerings.

What This Means

Perplexity’s acquisition of Carbon reflects the growing importance of AI systems that integrate seamlessly with enterprise workflows. By adding RAG technology to its platform, Perplexity is poised to offer tools that help businesses unlock the value of unstructured data.

As the enterprise AI search market heats up, this acquisition signals Perplexity’s intent to remain competitive alongside giants like OpenAI and Google. The addition of Carbon’s technology could enable Perplexity to deliver powerful, enterprise-ready AI solutions that streamline productivity and improve access to critical information.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.