Newsletter
Join the Community
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and updates
Perplexity AI, Inc. is a San Francisco–based artificial intelligence startup founded in August 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. In just a few years, the company has surged in prominence—valued at around **US $18 billion** as of mid-2025—and backed by high-profile investors such as Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and others.
Descript was founded in 2017 by Andrew Mason (yes, the same guy who started Groupon). The company’s mission is to simplify audio and video editing so that anyone — not just professionals with expensive software — can create high-quality content.
Suno AI is a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based startup founded in 2022 by a group of engineers and musicians with a mission to make music creation accessible to everyone — not just those with instruments, training, or expensive equipment. Their vision is simple but powerful: *if you can describe it, you can make it into music.*
MidJourney is developed by an independent research lab founded by David Holz (co-founder of Leap Motion) in 2021. Unlike giants like OpenAI or Google, MidJourney is a smaller, more design-driven team with a very clear vision: to let anyone create stunning artwork using just their imagination and a few words.
About the Product
Perplexity offers an LLM-powered “answer engine” that goes beyond traditional search. Users input natural-language queries, and the system returns concise, synthesized answers accompanied by real-time citations to source material—allowing fast, transparent verification. This answer-centric, conversational interface sets it apart from standard search engines.
Conversational, citation-backed search
Instead of link lists, Perplexity provides direct answers with inline sources.
Freemium model with powerful Pro tier
A free version is available, while the Pro subscription unlocks access to advanced features, multiple backend LLMs (e.g., GPT-5, Claude 4.0, Sonar, R1 1776), APIs, and internal file search capabilities.
Internal Knowledge Search
Pro users can upload and search through local files like PDFs, Word, and Excel, merging web results with their own documents.
Perplexity Assistant
A mobile assistant (on iOS/Android) enables multi-app tasks, event scheduling, and contextual dialogues—including camera-based visual queries.
Comet AI Browser
A Chromium-based AI browser that natively embeds Perplexity search, offering summarization, email drafting, and more within browsing sessions.
Shopping Hub
Lets users shop directly via an AI interface with one-click checkout and personalized recommendations.
Perplexity Labs
A creative engine for Pro users to generate multimedia content—tables, presentations, and images.
| Advantage | Description |
|---|---|
| Citation transparency | Provides inline sources, unlike many LLM chatbots. |
| Up-to-date real-time info | Incorporates fresh web data, not just static training sets. |
| Broad feature depth | Offers search, shopping, assistant tools, and creative labs. |
| File + web search integration | Internal Knowledge Search blends private docs with online answers. |
| Versatile LLM support | Switch between GPT-5, Claude, Sonar, and more. |
| Transparency-focused positioning | Marketed as a trusted “answer engine.” |
Perplexity AI offers a new kind of search: a conversational, source-rich engine blending real-time web data, internal document querying, multimedia outputs, mobile assistance, and e-commerce. Its transparency, flexibility, and innovation set it apart, though users should still verify answers carefully and watch the evolving legal landscape.
