Perplexity hits $18B valuation after $100M raise

• ▸Perplexity AI's valuation reached $18 billion following a $100 million funding round
• ▸T-Mobile's parent company is partnering with Perplexity to launch an "AI Phone"
• ▸The move extends Perplexity's ambitions beyond search into device-level AI integration
• ▸The partnership signals growing interest from telecom carriers in bundling AI assistants at the hardware level

Search company, phone ambitions

Partnering with a carrier to ship an "AI Phone" is a notable pivot for a company that built its reputation on a search interface — a bet that owning the device layer matters as much as owning the assistant.