For years, Formula 1 has been a playground for technology companies, but now the battle seems to be shifting to a new front: artificial intelligence. AI startup Perplexity appeared to be on the verge of securing a lucrative sponsorship deal with Red Bull, but the deal was blocked at a late stage by Oracle, the team’s largest sponsor.
Oracle Pulls the Strings
According to The Verge, Perplexity had signed a sponsorship contract with Red Bull worth five million dollars per year. However, Oracle, which has had a five-year partnership with the team worth 300 million dollars since 2022, put a stop to it. All new collaborations of Red Bull must be approved by Oracle, and in this case, it was a sensitive issue.
Oracle itself has big ambitions in the world of AI. The tech giant is involved in the Stargate project, a massive data infrastructure for OpenAI, and is also said to have made a bid for TikTok. Perplexity, which is also interested in acquiring TikTok, is seen by Oracle as a direct competitor. For this reason, the sponsorship deal with Red Bull was ultimately blocked.
Tech Companies in Formula 1
Formula 1 is an attractive market for technology companies. McLaren already collaborates with Google, and Mercedes has partnered with CrowdStrike. Recently, Williams struck a deal with Atlassian. For Perplexity, the sponsorship deal with Red Bull would have been a significant milestone, as it would have been one of the company’s first major sponsorship contracts. The AI startup, which has only been in existence for three years, recently completed an impressive funding round of 500 million dollars. This tripled the company’s value to 9 billion dollars.
No Response, but a Clear Signal
Neither Oracle nor Red Bull has responded to requests for comment. Perplexity has also remained silent about the situation. What is clear, however, is that the influence of large technology companies within Formula 1 continues to grow.
