In Brief Posted: 8:04 AM PDT · May 20, 2026 Image Credits:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images Russell Brandom AI search startups are blowing up Yesterday’s big news was Google’s plan to blow up its traditional Search in favor of an AI-powered experience — but Google isn’t the only company planning for the next generation of discoverability.AThis morning, Bloomberg has news of the Andreessen Horowitz-backed Exa Labs, which has raised $250 million against a $2.2 billion valuation to go after the same market. And it’s part of a wave of startups all chasing AI search, which has quietly become one of the most attractive targets in consumer AI. From Bloomberg: Exa is part of a wave of startups that are vying to transform the search industry, including Tavily, TinyFish and Parallel Web Systems. Led by former Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal, Parallel recently raised $100 million at a $2 billion valuation in a round led by venture firm Sequoia Capital, according to the Wall Street Journal. At the same time, we’re also seeing conventional tech platforms like Amazon, LinkedIn, and Reddit looking to AI to revamp their search and discoverability features — so there will be plenty of potential acquirers if any of the startups start looking to sell. The biggest competitor is ChatGPT, which still owns the interface layer and, prior to the Google launch, was handling the vast majority of the AI-powered searches taking place on a given day. But OpenAI can’t make Search a priority and Google has an ad business to protect, which could leave room for a smaller lab like Exa or Parallel to carve out a niche for itself. Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Exa Labs’ valuation. Topics AI, AI search, Exa Labs, In Brief, Parallel Web Systems May 27 Athens, Greece StrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone. REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news Related AI You can now talk to your Gmail inbox, as seen at Google IO 2026 Sarah Perez 22 hours ago AI Google Search as you know it is over Sarah Perez 1 day ago AI Google introduces Gemini Spark, a 24/7 agentic assistant with Gmail integration, at IO 2026 Russell Brandom 1 day ago Latest in AI In Brief OpenAI barrels towards IPO that may happen in September Julie Bort 2 hours ago In Brief AI search startups are blowing up Russell Brandom 4 hours ago AI Stability AI releases a new audio model that can create 6-minute songs Ivan Mehta 4 hours ago