Getty Images strikes photo licensing deal with AI startup Perplexity to power AI search; shares jump 50%

Getty Images just scored a major win in the AI race. The stock soared 50% on Friday after the photo distributor announced a global multi-year licensing agreement with Perplexity, one of the fastest-growing AI startups. The deal gives Perplexity access to Getty’s vast editorial and creative image library, integrating licensed visuals directly into its search and discovery tools.

For Getty, this partnership signals a strong push into AI-driven distribution—one that monetizes its massive archive while ensuring photographers and rights holders are properly credited. For Perplexity, the move strengthens its bid to become a trusted AI search platform at a time when the industry faces mounting legal and ethical scrutiny over the use of copyrighted material.

“Getty Images and Perplexity signed a global multi-year licensing agreement on Friday, allowing the AI startup to display the photo distributor’s editorial and creative images across its search and discovery tools,” Reuters reported.

The news comes less than a month after Reddit sued Perplexity for allegedly scraping millions of user posts to train its AI model. That case added to a growing list of legal challenges facing the startup as publishers and platforms push back against unlicensed data use.

Getty Images Strikes Multi-Year Deal With Perplexity to Power AI Search With Licensed Photos

Meanwhile, as part of the agreement with Getty, Perplexity will integrate Getty’s API technology into its AI workflows, giving users seamless access to premium visuals and verified image attribution. The company says it will include image credits and source links to educate users on proper legal use, a step that directly responds to growing concerns over AI-generated content and copyright violations.

Both companies stand to benefit from the deal’s timing. AI firms are under increasing pressure to secure legitimate content partnerships as lawsuits pile up over the scraping of copyrighted materials. Getty has already sued Stability AI for allegedly training models on its photos without permission, while Perplexity faces lawsuits from Japanese publishers Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun over similar claims.

Perplexity has started to shift its approach, introducing a revenue-sharing model and signing partnerships with media outlets including TIME and Der Spiegel. Getty, meanwhile, has been expanding its AI-friendly licensing strategy—allowing its images to be used safely in generative tools without violating creator rights.

The collaboration marks a rare moment of alignment between traditional content owners and AI innovators, suggesting that the future of AI search could be built not on scraping the web, but on paying for it.

Founded in 2022 by a team of former Google and OpenAI engineers, Perplexity bills itself as an “answer engine” designed to provide quick, sourced responses to queries, distinguishing itself from search incumbents like Google.