AI-powered search engine Perplexity has acquired Read.cv, a professional social media platform that once positioned itself as a competitor to LinkedIn. As part of the acquisition, Read.cv wind down operations started with users having until May 16 to export their data, including profiles, posts, and messages.
In a statement on its blog, Read.cv expressed admiration for Perplexity’s mission to make global knowledge more accessible, adding that they were excited to join the team to continue working on shared goals of exploration and discovery. Perplexity confirmed the acquisition.
“We’re excited to have the Read.cv team join Perplexity,” said Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, on X. “The team is incredibly capable in designing and building consumer and social experiences, and we look forward to collaborating on exciting new directions!”
Founded in 2021 by Andy Chung—formerly a product designer at Facebook, Mozilla, and Salesforce’s Quip—Read.cv offered an array of tools for professionals, including resume sharing, messaging, and networking within industries. The platform also provided features tailored for organizations, such as team profiles, job listings, and candidate searches. More recently, Read.cv introduced “Sites,” a feature allowing users to create personal websites linked to their profiles, with the option to obtain a “.cv” domain.
To ensure a smooth transition, Read.cv announced to migrate “.cv” domains to its partner Hello.cv started January 31, where users will be able to continue managing their domains.
The future of Read.cv’s team and operations under Perplexity remains unclear. However, Perplexity has been expanding its focus on corporate-oriented tools. In the summer of 2023, the company launched an enterprise plan with features such as user management and internal knowledge search.
This acquisition marks Perplexity’s third, following its earlier purchases of Carbon, a company that connects AI systems to external data sources, and Spellwise, whose CEO joined Perplexity to lead the development of its mobile app.
Backed by over $500 million in funding from firms like Institutional Venture Partners, Perplexity is valued at $9 billion. The acquisition of Read.cv, a company with a lean workforce of around three employees and backing from F7 Ventures and Fanjul Capital, may signal a strategic push toward expanding its enterprise-focused capabilities.
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