Perplexity

India: Perplexity’s Fast Lane in the AI Race with OpenAI

While OpenAI solidifies dominance in the U.S., Perplexity is forging a unique path by rapidly expanding into India. Rather than battling in saturated Western markets, the startup is leveraging India’s vast digital ecosystem to accelerate growth. This week, it struck a bold exclusive deal with Bharti Airtel to offer every one of Airtel’s 360 million subscribers a free one‑year subscription to Perplexity Pro—typically priced at around $200. This move gives Perplexity a critical edge in an emerging market with massive untapped scale.

India: The Shortcut to Scale

In Q2, downloads in India surged for both Perplexity and ChatGPT, but Perplexity grew faster. Its app installs jumped 600 percent year-over-year to 2.8 million, while ChatGPT saw a 587 percent rise and reached 46.7 million downloads. Monthly active users followed a similar trend: Perplexity posted 640 percent growth, while ChatGPT grew by 350 percent. Nevertheless, ChatGPT retained a lead in absolute numbers, with 19.8 million MAUs versus Perplexity’s 3.7 million. India now ranks as Perplexity’s largest market by active users.

Strategy: Partnerships, Localization, and Accessibility

Perplexity is leaning heavily on high-profile telecom partnerships to extend reach. Its Airtel deal mirrors previous collaborations with SoftBank in Japan and SK Telecom in South Korea. Internally, the company is also exploring offerings tailored to Indian students—a key growth segment.

At the same time, CEO Aravind Srinivas is championing India’s broader AI ambitions. He has advocated for building homegrown foundational models instead of merely fine‑tuning global ones and has pledged personal investment and time to support Indian researchers. He envisions open‑sourcing successful models under MIT licensing to bolster domestic capability.

Monetization Challenges Ahead

Although the Airtel offer could propel subscriber numbers, converting those users into paying customers remains the company’s biggest hurdle. Globally, ChatGPT’s in-app revenue soared 731 percent year-over-year in Q2 to $773 million, while Perplexity posted $8 million, growing 300 percent. In India, ChatGPT generated $9 million in user spend, whereas Perplexity has yet to report significant India-specific revenue.

What This Means for the AI Landscape

Perplexity’s India-first approach signals a shift in AI strategy: chasing scale through emerging markets instead of playing catch-up in saturated developed regions. By offering premium features freely and tailoring content for local audiences, it aims to build both reach and relevance.

For OpenAI and others, this means a growing challenge on user acquisition fronts outside North America. But to stay competitive, Perplexity must prove its ability to convert volume into revenue and technological differentiation.

Final Takeaway

Perplexity is betting big on India as a fast‑track to scale, banking on telecom partnerships and local market resonance to close the gap with OpenAI. While user growth is ramping impressively, the main test will be turning those free subscribers into sustainable paying customers. India may offer the shortcut—but to stay competitive, Perplexity must turn momentum into measurable returns.

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