Cristiano Ronaldo has become both an investor and global partner of Perplexity, a rapidly growing AI search platform. The company announced that the partnership extends beyond a traditional sponsorship arrangement, positioning Ronaldo as a long-term equity holder and product ambassador.
The football star will work with Perplexity on brand campaigns centered on curiosity and high performance. He is also featured in a new “Perplexity x CR7” experience, which allows fans to explore his records, career history, and major moments through conversational AI queries. According to the company, Ronaldo was already a frequent user of the platform and had used Perplexity to help prepare public remarks at major events.
Expanding Perplexity’s Global Reach
Perplexity has emerged as one of the leading AI search and answer engines, attracting significant investment and attention across the industry. The startup is valued at approximately $20 billion after a recent capital raise and has secured funding from major backers including Nvidia, SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, Accel, and IVP.
Ronaldo’s involvement provides access to one of the largest global audiences in professional sports. With a combined following exceeding one billion across social platforms, he offers a scale of visibility unmatched by most brand partnerships in the technology sector. Even a modest increase in user adoption from his audience could drive meaningful growth for Perplexity as it competes with ChatGPT-based assistants and traditional search engines.
Perplexity’s leadership says the collaboration reinforces the company’s focus on delivering trustworthy answers and professional-grade functionality. Positioning the product as a tool relied upon by elite athletes and high-performance users could help increase consumer confidence and accelerate mainstream expansion.
Athletes Increasing Tech Investments
The deal highlights a broader shift in athlete-backed ventures. Many top players are expanding beyond consumer apps into technologies that influence how fans interact with information and entertainment. AI platforms allow athletes to reach audiences directly, control narratives, and engage supporters without relying solely on traditional media formats.
Ronaldo’s investment signals increasing convergence between sports influence and core digital infrastructure. It underscores a commitment to technologies shaping how people discover information and prepare for major moments. For the AI industry, the partnership represents a cultural milestone as answer-focused platforms move into the mainstream.
Perplexity expects the collaboration to support global adoption and strengthen its positioning as a competitor in next-generation search. Combining capital investment, brand power, and product integration could provide the company with strategic gains as the AI sector continues to scale.
Perplexity expects the collaboration to support global adoption and strengthen its positioning as a competitor in next-generation search. Combining capital investment, brand power, and product integration could provide the company with strategic gains as the AI sector continues to scale. In a recent development, Perplexity and OpenAI launched AI shopping assistants — a push into e-commerce that illustrates how conversational search platforms are expanding into everyday consumer use cases.