Perplexity AI, Inc., often referred to as Perplexity, is an American software company specializing in developing a web search engine that leverages large language models (LLMs) to process user queries and provide synthesized responses with cited sources. Founded in August 2022 in San Francisco by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, the company aims to deliver direct, detailed answers to user questions, combining online information retrieval, natural language processing, and machine learning. Aravind Srinivas serves as the CEO.
Perplexity's search engine was launched on December 7, 2022. The company's products incorporate real-time web search capabilities to base responses on current internet content. Perplexity offers a free public version and a paid Pro subscription that provides access to more advanced language models and additional features. As of September 2025, Perplexity AI was valued at $20 billion. The company has attracted investments from notable figures and firms, including Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Databricks. In recent news, Perplexity launched "Model Council" in February 2026, a feature for "Max" subscribers that compares answers from three different AI models to improve accuracy and provide a broader perspective. The AI market is projected to reach $2,407.02 billion by 2032.