Latest news with #CometBrowser
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Perplexity's AI-powered browser opens up to select Windows users
Perplexity is planning to open up its Comet browser that's powered by "agentic search" to Windows users, according to the company's CEO. Aravind Srinivas posted on X that the Windows build of Comet is ready and has sent out invites to early testers already. Perplexity's CEO also hinted at a potential release for Android devices, adding that it was "moving at a crazy pace and moving ahead of schedule." In May, Perplexity launched a beta version of its AI-powered Comet browser, only available to Mac users running Apple Silicon. The intelligent browser comes with AI features baked in, like the ability to ask it questions, check shopping carts for discounts and dig up unanswered emails. The beta version even showcases a "Try on" feature where users can upload a photo of themselves and Comet will generate an image of them wearing a selected piece of clothing. There's still no official debut set, but Srinivas previously hinted at an upcoming release in an X post earlier this month. Comet is still only offering a waitlist for those interested, but the browser has already stirred up controversy. The company's CEO previously made comments during a podcast interview that Perplexity would use Comet "to get data even outside the app to better understand you." Srinivas later clarified on X that the comment was taken out of context, adding that "every user will be given the option to not be part of the personalization" when it comes to targeted ads. When Comet is released, the agentic browser will face competition from Opera Neon and similar offerings from Google and OpenAI.
TechCrunch
05-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Perplexity received 780 million queries last month, CEO says
Perplexity received 780 million queries in May, CEO Aravind Srinivas shared on stage at Bloomberg's Tech Summit on Thursday. Srinivas said that the AI search engine is seeing more than 20% growth month-over-month. 'Give it a year, we'll be doing, like, a billion queries a week if we can sustain this growth rate,' Srinivas said. 'And that's pretty impressive because the first day in 2022, we did 3,000 queries, just one single day. So from there to doing 30 million queries a day now, it's been phenomenal growth.' Srinivas went on to note that the same growth trajectory is possible, especially with the new Comet browser that it's working on. 'If people are in the browser, it's infinite retention,' he said. 'Everything in the search bar, everything on the new tab page, everything you're doing on the sidecar, any of the pages you're in, these are all going to be extra queries per active user, as well as seeking new users who just are tired of legacy browsers, like Chrome. I think that's going to be the way to grow over the coming year.' Srinivas said the reason Perplexity is developing Comet is to shift the role of AI from simply providing answers to actually completing actions on your behalf. He explained that when you get an AI-powered answer, it's essentially four or five searches in one. On the other hand, AI performing an action would be getting an entire browsing session done with one prompt. 'You really need to actually have a browser and hybridize the compute on the client and the server side in the most seamless way possible,' he said. 'And that calls for rethinking the whole browser.' He went on to explain that Perplexity isn't thinking of Comet as 'yet another browser,' but as a 'cognitive operating system.' Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW 'It'll be there for you every time, anytime, for work or life, as a system on the side, or like, just going and doing browsing sessions for you,' Srinivas said. 'And I think that'll fundamentally make us rethink how we even think about the internet. Like, earlier we would browse the internet, but now people are increasingly living on the internet. Like a lot of our life actually exists there. And if you want to build a proactive, personalized AI, it needs to live together with you, and that's why we need to rethink the browser entirely.' While the company hasn't revealed too much about the browser, Srinivas said in April that one reason Perplexity is developing its own browser is to track user activity beyond its own app so that it can sell premium ads, which would essentially mirror what Google quietly did to become the giant it is today. It's currently unknown when exactly Comet will launch, but Srinivas previously said on X that it will launch in the coming weeks.
