Perplexity AI has taken a major step in strengthening its technology stack by entering into a multi-year cloud partnership with Microsoft. Reports indicate the three-year deal is valued at around $750 million and focuses on Perplexity’s use of Microsoft Azure to support its growing AI operations.
As part of the agreement, the Nvidia-backed startup will gain access to Microsoft’s Foundry platform, which allows developers to work with multiple advanced AI systems in one environment. Through this setup, Perplexity plans to leverage models created by major AI players such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, giving it flexibility across different use cases.
Although neither company initially issued public statements, Perplexity later explained that the partnership is primarily aimed at gaining reliable access to the most advanced AI models currently available, rather than committing exclusively to a single provider.
Importantly, the company emphasized that the Microsoft deal does not signal a shift away from its existing cloud infrastructure. Amazon Web Services continues to serve as Perplexity’s main cloud platform, and the startup says its AWS spending remains unchanged.
The announcement comes amid ongoing legal tension with Amazon. In 2025, Amazon launched a lawsuit against Perplexity, alleging that the startup’s automated shopping feature accessed customer accounts without authorization and made automated actions appear as normal user activity.
Overall, the deal reflects a broader trend in the AI industry, where startups are increasingly diversifying both cloud providers and model access. It also highlights Microsoft’s push to position Azure as a central platform for high-value AI workloads, even as companies maintain parallel relationships with competing cloud services.
