Cursor vs Perplexity AI
Side-by-side equity comparison for employees weighing offers at Cursor or Perplexity AI. Valuations, funding history, headcount growth, and secondary-market context.
| Cursor | Perplexity AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest valuation | $2.5B | $5B |
| Latest round | Series B | Series B |
| Round date | — | — |
| Total raised | $400M | $500M |
| Founded | 2022 | 2022 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Employees | 539 | 1,482 |
| Employee YoY growth | +917% | -4% |
| Primary industry | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence |
| Secondary-market price | — | — |
| Base-case equity multiple | — | 2x |
| Upside equity multiple | — | 2x |
| Lead investors | Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital | NEA, IVP |
| Status | private | private |
Overview
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor built by Anysphere that uses large language models to help developers write, edit, and understand code more efficiently with intelligent autocomplete and chat.
Perplexity AI builds an AI-powered search engine that provides cited, conversational answers to user queries in real time.
Why we compare these
Cursor and Perplexity AI both appear on Sara's List 2024 .
If you're evaluating offers at either one, the equity math depends on more than the headline valuation — dilution, strike price, time to liquidity, and concentration risk all matter. Use our equity compensation calculator and exit calculator to model your own numbers.