Andreessen-Backed AI Search Startup Exa Valued at $2.2 Billion

Exa Labs Inc., a San Francisco-based startup that wants to build a search engine tailor-made for the age of artificial intelligence, raised $250 million at a $2.2 billion valuation in a round led by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.

The deal, announced Wednesday, more than triples the five-year-old startup’s valuation since it raised $85 million at a value of $700 million last fall. The round reflects a surge of investor interest in the future of online search, a market long dominated by Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

Exa is part of a wave of startups that are vying to transform the search industry, including Tavily, ...