Microsoft Inks $750 Million Cloud Deal with AI Firm Perplexity

AI startup Perplexity signed a $750 million deal with Microsoft Corp. to use its Azure cloud service, spreading its business beyond longtime cloud partner Amazon.com Inc.

The three-year commitment will let Perplexity deploy AI models through Microsoft’s Foundry service, including those made by OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, according to people familiar with the deal, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter.