Perplexity is launching a monthly subscription plan for power users, $200, the company announced in a blog post Tuesday.
This plan, Perplexity Max, will provide unlimited access to startup spreadsheets and report generation tools, labs, and early access to new features, including Perplexity's upcoming AI-powered browser Comet. Max subscribers also get priority access to confusing services using modern frontier models such as the Openai O3-Pro and Claude Opus 4.
With the launch of Max, Perplexity has become the latest AI provider, offering a hyper-premium subscription tier to leverage its power users. Openai first did so with a $200 ChatGPT Pro subscription, but Google, Anthropic and Cursor have followed suit in recent months.
Perplexity now offers a variety of subscription plans. In addition to the maximum plan of $200 per month, Perplexity offers a 20-month Consumer Pro plan and an Enterprise Pro plan that takes 40 months per person. The startup says it will ultimately provide enterprise customers with a final maximum plan.
In 2024, the confusion generated around $34 million in revenue, driven primarily by a 20-month subscription to Pro Plan, but still burned around $65 million in cash, according to the financials seen in the information. Most of Perplexity's Cash Burn reportedly depends on mass spending on cloud servers and purchasing access to Openai and human AI models.
It appears that Perplexity's business has grown since last year. It reportedly had $80 million in January. However, startups need to generate a considerable amount of revenue to justify their valuation. In May, embarrassment held late-stage consultations, raising $500 million at a $14 billion valuation. It is unclear whether the round has officially been closed.
However, Perplexity's competition in the AI search market is intensifying. Over the past few months, Google has pushed AI modes significantly. It is a unique AI-powered search product with noticeable similarity to Perplexity's apps in front of users. Openai also reportedly is considering integrating searches deeper into ChatGpt over the last few months and launching its own browser.
One of the keys to Perplexity's success is the ability to work with AI providers that rely on AI models, while also beating them in the AI search market. Additional revenue from Perplexity Max subscribers could enhance the ability of startups to compete in the space.