(Bloomberg/Sofia Horta e Costa) — Billionaire footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a stake in Perplexity AI Inc., marking the Portuguese star’s most high-profile funding to this point.
The dimensions of the stake and monetary phrases weren’t disclosed in an announcement printed Thursday. Perplexity AI additionally entered a worldwide sponsorship settlement with Ronaldo, and launched an interactive hub for followers on its search engine.
Based in 2022, Perplexity has emerged as one of many fastest-growing AI startups, positioning itself as a direct challenger to Google. The San Francisco-based firm was valued at $20 billion in a September funding spherical and has been increasing its enterprise instruments, paid subscriptions and worldwide footprint amid surging demand for AI search alternate options.
Ronaldo, who’s at the moment primarily based in Saudi Arabia, has a internet value of about $1.4 billion, in keeping with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which not too long ago valued his wealth for the primary time. Till now he has primarily invested in his residence nation of Portugal and has targeted on smaller companies just like the 2024 acquisition of the Lisboa Racket Heart, in addition to a resort chain, gyms and a media group.
The funding comes weeks after Ronaldo met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, an encounter extensively shared on social media after Trump posted a video of the pair collectively. Whereas neither facet disclosed particulars of their dialog, it sparked on-line hypothesis about potential business or promotional ties.
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