Perplexity Bets on AI Search Engine
TLDRPerplexity is an AI-driven conversational answer engine that distinguishes itself from traditional search engines and chatbots by directly providing answers and always citing sources. The tool is backed by investors like NVIDIA and operates on compute clusters from hyperscalers like AWS. The focus is on delivering accurate information, aiming to become the go-to chatbot for reliable web data. With 10 million monthly users, growth is organic, driven by social media and word of mouth. The company's investment is directed towards scaling adoption and usage, with a vision of expanding the user base before exploring monetization options.
Takeaways
- 🙂 Perplexity is an AI-powered, conversational answer engine that differentiates itself from other chatbots by providing direct answers with clear sources from the web.
- 📝 Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity directly provides answers to queries without requiring users to sift through search results.
- 📰 NVIDIA is an investor in Perplexity, partnering on training and inference frameworks, though Perplexity's compute cluster is hosted on other hyperscalers like EWR.
- 📚 The unique selling proposition of Perplexity lies in its ability to clearly label sources, setting it apart in the competitive AI chatbot market.
- 💬 Perplexity aims to be the go-to chatbot for accurate and source-backed information on the web, addressing a wide variety of user needs from brainstorming ideas to generating content.
- 🚀 The founder's motivation for creating Perplexity was driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and the potential of large language models, leading to the development of a new product that combines these models with web search.
- 💸 Funding for Perplexity is focused on R&D, scaling adoption and usage, with a significant portion allocated to compute resources. Remarkably, its growth has been completely organic, driven by word of mouth and social media.
- 📱 With a monthly user base of 10 million, Perplexity has experienced rapid adoption without the need for paid marketing, highlighting the demand for its unique approach to information retrieval.
- 📋 Investors are aligned with the company's vision to scale user growth and adoption, viewing monetization through subscriptions or other forms as secondary to building a large and engaged user base.
- 🙋 The founder's background includes experience at OpenAI and DeepMind, which influenced the decision to embark on creating Perplexity as a novel solution in the AI space.
Q & A
What is unique about Perplexity as an AI tool?
-Perplexity is an AI-powered conversational answer engine that differs from traditional search engines as it directly provides answers to queries with sources, ensuring users know where each part of the answer originates from the web.
How does Perplexity ensure the accuracy and sourcing of its information?
-Perplexity only states what exists on the web and clearly labels the sources of its answers, ensuring users can trace the information back to its origin.
What kind of support does Perplexity receive from NVIDIA?
-NVIDIA is a strategic investor in Perplexity, partnering with them to work on frameworks for training and inference, although Perplexity's compute clusters are hosted on other hyperscalers like AWS.
How does Perplexity differentiate itself in the market of AI chatbots?
-Perplexity aims to be the single chatbot that users rely on for accurate and correct information from the web, distinguishing itself by providing sourced answers.
How has Perplexity grown its user base?
-Perplexity has experienced organic growth without paying for users. It has relied on word of mouth and announcements on platforms like Twitter to reach its user base.
What was the original intention behind the creation of Perplexity?
-The creators initially aimed to brainstorm and create products using large language models as an emerging technology, which led to the concept of combining these models with web search to form Perplexity.
How is the funding raised by Perplexity being utilized?
-The funding is primarily directed towards research and development, as well as scaling adoption and usage, with a focus on increasing compute resources.
What is Perplexity's strategy for user growth and monetization?
-Perplexity's strategy is to focus on scaling its user base by providing accurate information, with the belief that as the user base grows, opportunities for monetization through subscriptions or other forms will arise.
How does Perplexity's leadership view the pressure to commercialize?
-The leadership views progress in terms of user growth and adoption rather than just revenue, aligning with investors to prioritize scaling the user base.
What are some of the potential future uses of large language models like Perplexity?
-Potential uses include brainstorming new ideas, generating content like essays or poems, and interacting with AI personalities for various purposes.
How does Perplexity plan to scale adoption and usage among its users?
-Perplexity plans to invest in scaling adoption and usage by focusing on compute resources and marketing efforts to reach and retain more users.
Outlines
🤖 Introduction to Perplexity AI
The conversation begins with a discussion about the uniqueness of the Perplexity AI model, which is described as an AI-powered conversational answer engine that differs from traditional search engines. Unlike other chatbots, Perplexity provides direct answers to queries and always cites its sources, ensuring users know where each part of the answer originates from the web. The conversation then shifts to discuss the investment and compute resources of the company, mentioning NVIDIA as a strategic partner for training and inference frameworks, but also highlighting that the company's compute cluster is hosted on other hyperscalers like AWS.
🚀 Market Positioning and User Growth
The discussion continues with the market positioning of Perplexity AI, emphasizing its potential to become the go-to chatbot for accurate and reliable information on the web. The speaker outlines the variety of AI chatbots available, ranging from brainstorming tools to creative companions, but asserts that there is a niche for a reliable information source. It is mentioned that 10 million people use the service monthly, and this user base has grown organically through word of mouth and social media, primarily Twitter. The company's focus is on scaling adoption and usage rather than immediate monetization.
💡 Entrepreneurial Journey and Founding Motivations
The founder shares his motivations behind starting the company, which stem from a desire to embark on an entrepreneurial journey and leverage large language models as an emerging technology. Initially, the goal was not to create a search company, but the idea of combining large language models with web search led to the creation of Perplexity. The founder also discusses the funding raised and its allocation towards research and development, marketing, and scaling the user base, with a particular emphasis on increasing compute resources to support growth.
📈 Pressures of Commercialization and Investor Alignment
The conversation concludes with the founder's perspective on the pressures of commercialization and the expectations of investors. The founder believes that progress is the primary concern for stakeholders, which is reflected in user growth and adoption rather than just revenue. As the user base expands, opportunities for monetization through subscriptions and other methods will naturally arise. The founder confirms that all investors are currently aligned with the strategy of focusing on scaling the user base before pursuing monetization.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Perplexity
💡Conversational Answer Engine
💡Sources
💡Investors
💡Compute Cluster
💡AI Chatbots
💡Web Search
💡Organic Growth
💡Monetization
💡DeepMind
💡Entrepreneurial Journey
Highlights
Perplexity is an AI-powered conversational answer engine, not a search engine.
Perplexity directly provides answers to queries with sources, differentiating it from other chatbots.
NVIDIA is an investor in Perplexity, partnering for framework development but not providing compute clusters.
Perplexity's unique selling point is the clear labeling of information sources.
The market for AI chatbots is anticipated to be diverse, with a place for a reliable source of accurate information.
Perplexity aims to be the go-to chatbot for accurate web information, with a current user base of 10 million monthly.
The founder's desire for an entrepreneurial journey led to the creation of Perplexity.
Perplexity combines large language models with web search, representing a new product category.
The company has experienced organic growth without paid user acquisition.
Perplexity's marketing has primarily been through Twitter and word of mouth.
Investment is being directed towards scaling adoption and usage, with a focus on compute resources.
The story of OpenAI was about the push to commercialize AI technologies.
Perplexity's leadership feels pressure to demonstrate progress through user growth and adoption.
Monetization opportunities will arise as the user base grows, potentially through subscriptions or other methods.
Investors are currently aligned with the goal of scaling the user base rather than immediate revenue generation.
The Perplexity team initially started with offices for brainstorming and product creation using large language models.
The idea of Perplexity was stumbled upon, showcasing the serendipitous nature of innovation.
