As the team behind world champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing is a sought-after partner for sponsors. However, not every sponsor gets to feature on the cars, uniforms, and gear of the Austrian team. It’s been reported that Red Bull’s primary sponsor, Oracle, blocked a multi-million dollar deal with the team.
According to The Verge, AI company Perplexity was in negotiations to sign a $5 million sponsorship deal with Red Bull. Despite both sides agreeing to the terms, Oracle ultimately prevented the deal from going through.
The Verge, citing sources familiar with the situation, claims it has seen documents confirming Oracle’s role in halting the agreement.
The reasons for Oracle’s intervention seem to be twofold. First, Oracle was reportedly in talks to acquire TikTok, a potential rival to Perplexity, which also has ties to the short-video platform. Additionally, Oracle supports Stargate, a project to build data centers for OpenAI, a competitor of Perplexity.
As per the agreement with Red Bull, Oracle must approve any new sponsor, as part of a reported $300 million deal over five years. Both Red Bull Racing and Oracle declined to comment, as did Perplexity.
