NEW DELHI— In a major shake-up in the global AI landscape, Perplexity AI, led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, has surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT to claim the top position among free apps on the Apple App Store.
The surge in popularity comes on the heels of a strategic partnership with telecom giant Airtel, which now offers its customers complimentary access to Perplexity Pro—a premium subscription valued at ₹17,000 (approximately $200) per year.
Perplexity Pro provides access to cutting-edge AI models, including GPT-4.1, Claude, Grok 4, and advanced image generation tools. It also grants early access to the company’s exclusive Comet browser, currently available only by invitation—even to free-tier users.
While Perplexity now tops the iOS app charts, ChatGPT remains the most downloaded app on the Google Play Store, where Perplexity has yet to launch. Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini app is currently ranked fifth among free iOS apps.
In response to growing competition, OpenAI—under CEO Sam Altman—is banking on its newly launched ChatGPT agent, a versatile assistant capable of managing tasks like reading emails, browsing the web, and creating presentations. The company previously made headlines with its GPT-4-powered image generation tools, which went viral earlier this year.
However, dominance in the AI space can be fleeting. Elon Musk’s Grok saw a spike in popularity after releasing Grok 3 and riding the viral wave of Ghibli-style image generation. Chinese firm DeepSeek also made news with its direct challenge to ChatGPT using homegrown AI models.
Founded in 2022, Perplexity has rapidly emerged as a key player in the generative AI arena. The startup’s valuation skyrocketed from $1 billion to $3 billion last year, signaling strong investor and user confidence in its growth trajectory and long-term vision.
With the accelerating evolution of AI tools and applications, Perplexity appears well-positioned to build on its momentum and redefine the next phase of digital interaction. (Source: IANS)
