Perplexity Secures Major Cloud Partnership With Microsoft
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity has entered into a significant three-year, $750 million agreement with Microsoft, enabling the company to utilize Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. The deal, reported by Bloomberg, marks a major development in the AI and cloud computing sectors.
This strategic alliance will allow Perplexity access to Microsoft’s Foundry service, which supports advanced AI model deployment. According to company representatives, the agreement grants Perplexity access to cutting-edge models from OpenAI, Anthropic and others operating at the frontier of artificial intelligence development.
Azure to Support Perplexity’s AI Ambitions
“We are excited to partner with Microsoft for access to frontier models from X, OpenAI, and Anthropic,” a Perplexity spokesperson stated. The collaboration is expected to significantly enhance the startup’s capabilities in developing robust AI tools and services.
Despite the new alignment with Microsoft, Perplexity confirmed that it continues to maintain a strong partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), its long-standing cloud provider. The company emphasized that there has been no shift in its spending from AWS, and that it remains Perplexity’s preferred choice.
“We’re excited to announce expansions of that partnership in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson added, indicating that Perplexity is pursuing a multi-cloud strategy to diversify its technological infrastructure.
Legal Dispute With Amazon Looms in Background
The Microsoft deal emerges amid an ongoing legal battle between Perplexity and Amazon. In November, Amazon filed a lawsuit against the AI startup, alleging unauthorized use of its eCommerce platform. The tech giant aims to prevent Perplexity from enabling its users to shop on Amazon using AI-powered tools integrated with the Comet browser.
Perplexity responded via a blog post published on November 4, claiming it had received an “aggressive legal threat” from Amazon. The startup asserted its commitment to user empowerment, stating that it would not be intimidated and would fight to enable users to utilize agentic AI to “take control of their digital lives.”
In response, Amazon maintained that third-party applications should respect the operational boundaries set by businesses. A company spokesperson stated that it should be “fairly straightforward” for other platforms to honor Amazon’s policies regarding who can facilitate purchases on its marketplace.
This incident marks one of the first major legal contests over whether autonomous AI agents have the right to act on behalf of users on commercial platforms. The outcome could set important precedents for the AI industry and digital commerce regulations.
Microsoft Cloud Revenue Reflects Growing Demand
Microsoft’s investment in cloud technology continues to pay dividends. During the second quarter of its fiscal year 2026, the tech giant reported a 29% year-over-year increase in revenue for its Intelligent Cloud segment, reaching $32.9 billion. Notably, Azure and other cloud services saw a growth of 39%.
Although Microsoft does not provide a breakdown of its AI-related revenue, industry analysts note that Azure has emerged as a vital platform for AI workloads. From training foundational models to deploying inference at enterprise scale, Azure has become a cornerstone of Microsoft’s AI strategy.
With Perplexity now onboard, Microsoft is likely to further strengthen its position as a leading provider of AI infrastructure and services. Perplexity’s use of Azure aligns with a broader trend in which startups and enterprise companies alike are investing heavily in cloud-based AI solutions.
Future Outlook for Perplexity and the AI Sector
Perplexity’s dual-cloud strategy, leveraging both Azure and AWS, reflects a growing industry trend toward flexibility and resilience in cloud deployments. By securing access to multiple high-performance AI platforms, the startup is positioning itself to innovate rapidly while mitigating risks tied to vendor lock-in.
As AI continues to transform industries, partnerships like the one between Perplexity and Microsoft are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping how smart technologies are developed and delivered. The coming months will likely reveal more about how Perplexity plans to expand its capabilities and navigate ongoing legal and competitive challenges.
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