In BriefPosted:2:26 PM PST February 25, 2025Image Credits:SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg / Getty ImagesPerplexity launches $50M seed and pre-seed VC fundPerplexity, the developer of an AI-powered search engine, is raising a $50 million seed and pre-seed investment fund, CNBC reported. Although the majority of the capital is coming from limited partners, Perplexity is using some of the capital it raised for the companys growth to anchor the fund. Perplexity has reportedly raised $500 million at a $9 billion valuation in December.Perplexitys fund is managed by general partners Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, who in 2018 co-founded an early-stage venture firm, F7 Ventures, according to PitchBook data. F7 has invested in startups like womens health company Midi. Its not clear if Graziadei and Shevelenko will continue to run F7 or if they will focus all their energies on the Perplexitiys venture fund.OpenAI also manages an investment fund known as the OpenAI Startup Fund. However, unlike Perplexity, OpenAI claims it does not use its own capital for these investments.Topics