Perplexity, the company behind a popular AI answer engine, has done something huge. It recently acquired Carbon, a Seattle-based startup. Carbon is known for connecting AI systems to external data sources. The announcement, made on Wednesday, hints at exciting developments ahead.
This acquisition will help Perplexity’s AI search tool become even more powerful. Soon, it will connect with workplace tools like Notion, Google Docs, and Slack. CEO, Aravind Srinivasan, confirmed that users can expect these new features in early 2025.
What Makes Carbon Special?
Carbon’s technology is built on retrieval augmented generation (RAG). This advanced system lets AI pull data from external databases before answering a question. In simpler terms, it allows AI to provide more accurate and informed responses.
By adding Carbon’s expertise, Perplexity is taking its AI capabilities to the next level. Imagine asking your AI assistant a question and getting answers directly from your company’s files, meeting notes, or cloud storage. Sounds convenient, doesn’t it?
Perplexity is clearly aiming to make this a reality. In their statement, they said, “Carbon will 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.”
Why Enterprise AI Search Is So Important
Businesses today deal with mountains of data. But most of this information is scattered across different platforms. This makes finding the right file or detail a time-consuming task.
Enterprise AI search tools solve this problem. They act like a super-smart librarian. These tools pull information from:
- Cloud storage like Google Drive and Dropbox
- Communication platforms like Slack and Teams
- Project tools like Asana and Trello
This saves employees valuable time. Instead of hunting for information, they can focus on their actual work.
The Growing Race in AI Search
Enterprise AI search is quickly becoming a hot topic. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and others are investing heavily in this area.
Glean, a leader in enterprise search, has inspired many competitors. Even OpenAI reportedly told investors not to back Glean if they wanted to invest in OpenAI itself.
Weekly AI essentials. Brief, bold, brilliant. Always free. Learn how to use AI tools to their maximum potential and access our AI resources to help you grow. 👇
Perplexity’s acquisition of Carbon shows it is ready to join this race. With Carbon’s technology, it could soon compete directly with companies like Glean.
Perplexity’s Smart Strategy
This isn’t the first time Perplexity has made a strategic acquisition. In 2023, it acquired Spellwise, a company focused on mobile app development. Spellwise’s team played a key role in improving Perplexity’s mobile offerings. Now, Carbon’s team could do the same for enterprise search.
