Perplexity Launches 'Computer' AI
AI startup Perplexity has launched "Perplexity Computer," a multi-model AI system that can create and execute entire workflows on its own. The platform moves beyond simple text generation to orchestrate complex tasks, marking a step toward more autonomous, agent-like AI for professional work.
Founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, Perplexity AI has rapidly grown, reaching a valuation of $14 billion by June 2025. The company has attracted significant investment from major players including Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Databricks. Perplexity Computer represents a strategic pivot for the company from a "knowledge engine" to an "action engine." This move is designed to address a market where investors are increasingly seeking tangible productivity gains from AI, moving beyond simple chat-based answers to executing complete tasks. The system is designed to handle workflows that can run for hours or even months. The platform operates on a principle of "multi-model orchestration," using different specialized AI models for different tasks. For its core reasoning, it employs Opus 4.6, while delegating other tasks to models like Gemini for research, Veo 3.1 for video, and ChatGPT 5.2 for tasks requiring long-context recall. CEO Aravind Srinivas compares Perplexity Computer to an orchestra conductor, unifying the capabilities of various specialized AI models into a single, coordinated system. When the system encounters a problem, it can autonomously create sub-agents to find solutions, which might involve researching information or even coding necessary applications. Each task is executed in an isolated computing environment with access to a browser and filesystem.
