Perplexity Launches 'AI Computer'
AI startup Perplexity has launched “Perplexity Computer,” a system that autonomously creates and executes entire digital workflows. The platform can orchestrate multiple AI models for text, vision, and code to automate complex business tasks, moving beyond single-function chatbots.
Founded in 2022, Perplexity was established by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, a team with experience from major AI labs like OpenAI, Google Brain, and DeepMind. CEO Aravind Srinivas, an IIT Madras graduate, previously held research positions at these top-tier companies. The company has seen a meteoric rise in valuation, reaching approximately $20 billion by late 2025, backed by prominent investors including Jeff Bezos and Nvidia. Perplexity Computer represents a significant evolution from the company's origins as a conversational search engine. Instead of just answering queries, it acts as a digital worker, capable of managing entire projects from research and coding to deployment. The system breaks down complex user requests into smaller tasks and assigns them to specialized sub-agents that can conduct web research, generate documents, and process data. A key feature of Perplexity Computer is its "multi-model orchestration." It uses Anthropic's Opus 4.6 as its primary reasoning engine to coordinate a team of other specialized AI models. This includes leveraging Gemini for in-depth research, Veo 3.1 for video creation, and ChatGPT 5.2 for tasks requiring long-context recall. This new platform places Perplexity in direct competition with other agentic AI systems from tech giants. While OpenAI's Operator focuses on high autonomy for web tasks and is priced at a premium, Perplexity Computer is positioned as a more affordable and user-friendly option for research and automation. Unlike Google's AI Overviews which prioritize speed and broad discovery, Perplexity is designed for deeper, more transparent research with verifiable citations. Looking ahead, Perplexity plans to deepen its integration into everyday workflows. The company is developing its own browser, named Comet, envisioned as a "cognitive operating system" to enhance user interaction. Furthermore, Perplexity is set to be deeply integrated into Samsung's Galaxy S26 smartphones, marking a significant step in making its AI capabilities a native part of mobile devices.
