Nvidia eyes Perplexity at $30B+

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion — its third reported private-AI move this month. Beneath the AI cluster, Forge's July data show the median secondary trade at a 7% discount to the company's last funding round, with buyers a minority of marketplace interest for the first time since late 2023. And Cerebras has fallen back to roughly its $185 May IPO price after a sharply higher first-day close.

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest in Perplexity above $30 billion

The Information reported this weekend that Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion. Perplexity last raised at $20 billion in September 2025. Its annualized revenue has reportedly grown from under $250 million at the start of the year to more than $750 million, driven in part by Perplexity Computer, its agent product for automating computer-based tasks. Nvidia is already an investor, alongside Jeff Bezos and SoftBank. No agreement has been announced, and the talks may not produce one.

The talks follow two other reported Nvidia moves this month. Newcomer reported a non-exclusive $6 billion license for Poolside's technology alongside a $1 billion investment at a $12 billion pre-money valuation. And Bloomberg reported early talks with Rebellions, the Korean inference-chip designer last valued around $2.3 billion, about a partnership, investment, or acquisition. Each uses a different structure: a license with hiring at Poolside, a possible partnership or acquisition at Rebellions, and a straight equity round at Perplexity.

One private-market question is what these marks measure. When the same strategic buyer appears across a cohort, a headline valuation may reflect that buyer's priorities as much as broad investor demand. A round led or anchored by a strategic investor such as Nvidia may reflect different considerations than one led primarily by financial investors — and the two are hard to tell apart in the headline number.

Reported private-company financials and secondary-market indications may be unaudited, incomplete, non-standard, or based on limited transaction activity. They should not be relied upon as fair value, executable pricing, or a basis for any investment decision.

Browse private-company pages on Augment for company information, recent coverage, and available market data.

The median secondary trade slipped to a 7% discount in July

Per Forge's August private market update, the median secondary trade on its marketplace went off at a 7% discount to the company's last funding round in July, compared with par pricing in June. Buy-side indications of interest fell to 48% of marketplace interest, from 57% in June — the first month since late 2023 in which buyers were not the majority. Forge notes buyer participation remains broadly in line with historical averages and well above the lows of 2022, when the buy-side share routinely ran below 40%.

The top of the market looks different. Reported Nasdaq Private Market data implied an Anthropic valuation above $1 trillion this month, ahead of its $965 billion May round, and OpenAI completed a $7 billion employee tender at an $852 billion valuation on August 10. Demand appears concentrated in a small group of AI names while the median company reprices lower. Forge's figures cover one marketplace, and the median reflects the mix of companies that happen to trade there in a given month. Augment and its affiliates may hold positions in Anthropic securities.

Reported private-company financials and secondary-market indications may be unaudited, incomplete, non-standard, or based on limited transaction activity. They should not be relied upon as fair value, executable pricing, or a basis for any investment decision.

📈 Data Point of the Day

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That is roughly where Cerebras closed Monday relative to its $185 IPO price — about $185, three months after a sharply higher first-day trading debut in May. The round trip illustrates why a first-day IPO surge may say relatively little about where a stock ultimately settles once public trading develops. The same caution applies when comparing an IPO debut with late-stage private-market marks, which differ materially in liquidity, disclosure, security rights and investor base.

Reported private-company financials and secondary-market indications may be unaudited, incomplete, non-standard, or based on limited transaction activity. They should not be relied upon as fair value, executable pricing, or a basis for any investment decision.

⚡ Quick Takes

The following financing rounds are included for market context only and are not recommendations or valuation opinions.

• ‍Fasset raised $68 million at a reported $1 billion valuation — Japan's SBI Group led the Series C for the stablecoin neobank, which reports processing more than $40 billion in annualized transaction volume across 125 countries.‍
• Rillet raised $100 million at a reported $1 billion valuation — ICONIQ led the Series C for the AI-native ERP company two years after it emerged from stealth, with Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz participating.‍
• Also raised $150 million to take its small EVs autonomous — Prysm Capital led the Series D for the micromobility company, which spun out of Rivian in March 2025 and has raised $455 million to date.

🎓 From the Manual

Indication of interest (IOI)

A non-binding expression of intent to buy or sell at a given price and size. On private-market platforms, IOIs are posted before any match or negotiation, so they measure interest rather than completed trades. The ratio of buy-side to sell-side IOIs is one gauge of which way demand may be leaning, though posted interest does not always convert into transactions.

👀 What We're Watching

• ‍Anthropic's public S-1. Bloomberg reported the filing could become public by the end of August — a window that closes this week, though no public filing has been made as of this writing and no offering is assured. Augment may hold a position in Anthropic securities. A public prospectus would replace many press-reported figures with company disclosures.‍
• Forge's August data. July's median discount and sub-majority buy-side share are one month of data. The next monthly update may show whether either continued.‍
• Rebellions' two tracks. Bloomberg reported the early Nvidia talks shortly after the company's CFO discussed preparations for a Korea Exchange listing. Which path advances first may shape how other inference-chip startups approach their next rounds.