Perplexity tried to sponsor an F1 team — but got blocked by a bigger tech company

The high-stakes world of Formula 1 racing just became the latest battleground for AI companies.

AI-powered search startup Perplexity has been in negotiations to sign a sponsorship deal with Red Bull Racing, worth $5 million a year. But after both parties had agreed to the terms, the deal was blocked by Oracle, the team’s biggest sponsor, according to sources familiar with the matter and documents viewed by The Verge.

Two issues are at the heart of the conflict, according to the sources. Oracle has made a bid to purchase TikTok, and Perplexity is a rival bidder. Oracle is also a backer of Stargate, the $500 billion project to build data centers for OpenAI, which competes with Perplexity.

All new Red Bull Racing partnerships need to be approved by Oracle, the team’s biggest sponsor. Their five-year deal, signed in 2022, is worth around $300 million and is considered to be one of the most significant partnerships in Formula 1. Oracle and Red Bull Racing did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Perplexity declined to comment on the negotiations.

Formula 1 is no stranger to tech companies courting their teams. Google has a partnership with McLaren, CrowdStrike is partnered with Mercedes-AMG Petronas, and Atlassian just inked a deal with Williams Racing.

This partnership would have marked one of Perplexity’s first major sponsorships, and about 1 percent of the startup’s latest funding round. The nearly three-year old company recently closed a $500 million funding round, tripling its valuation to $9 billion.