Perplexity AI is creating a $50 million venture fund for U.S.-based pre-seed and seed AI startups.Perplexity will be an anchor investor, but outside limited partners will provide most of the capital.Perplexity recently closed a $500 million funding round, tripling its valuation to $9 billion.Venture capital investment in AI companies in the U.S. reached 42% in 2024, up from 36% in 2023 and 22% in 2022.