AI search startup Perplexity is set to raise $500 million at a $9 billion valuation, tripling its worth from a few months ago, according to people familiar with the matter. Reported by Berber Jin for the Wall Street Journal, this would be Perplexity’s fourth funding round this year, and the company has faced criticism from news publishers for using their content without fair compensation. CEO Aravind Srinivas said he wants to reach revenue-sharing deals with publishers, and Perplexity will defend itself against a lawsuit from Dow Jones. The startup, founded in 2022, faces increased competition from OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s AI-powered search features.