AI giant Perplexity taps London startup Valarian in sovereign tech drive

US AI giant Perplexity has struck a deal with London-based startup Valarian to bring its technology into the UK government and defence systems, a major boost to Britain’s ambition to reduce its reliance on foreign tech infrastructure. The partnership will let governments and businesses handling sensitive information deploy Perplexity’s AI within their own infrastructure, keeping control over where data is processed and how the technology operates. Valarian, which raised $50m (£37m) in July, has developed software that allows organisations to control which AI models can access their systems, what information they can use, and where individual workloads run. The deal marks a significant commercial win for the British startup, whose technology is now deployed across four continents, as governments increasingly seek to harness advanced AI without surrendering control of critical infrastructure. AI minister Kanishka Narayan welcomed the agreement as an endorsement of Britain’s d