Perplexity AI gives IIT Madras students, faculty free access to its Perplexity Pro

Aravind Srinivas, Founder and CEO of Perplexity AI, has said the search engine startup has given free Perplexity Pro to all students, faculty and staff of IIT Madras. 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Srinivas said: "We’ve given free Perplexity Pro to all students and faculty and staff of IIT Madras, where I did my undergrad. Super excited to start there as we begin our expansion for Indian campuses."

Perplexity Pro is the top-tier subscription plan, meticulously crafted to elevate your search experience by offering an array of advanced features and capabilities.

On Tuesday, Perplexity unveiled a new API service named Sonar, enabling organizations and software developers to integrate the startup's innovative AI search tools into their own applications.

In a recent blog post, Perplexity highlighted the limitations of current generative AI features, which often rely solely on training data for answers. They emphasized the importance of real-time internet connection and access to trusted sources to optimise the accuracy and credibility of API responses.

Perplexity is now featuring two tiers for developers to select from: a cost-effective and quick alternative, Sonar, along with a premium option, Sonar Pro, designed for more challenging inquiries. Perplexity's Sonar API allows enterprises and developers to tailor the data sources utilized by its AI search engine.

By introducing its API, Perplexity has expanded the reach of its AI search engine beyond its app and website. Zoom and other companies are utilizing Sonar to enhance their services, such as Zoom's AI assistant for its video conferencing platform. Sonar enables Zoom's AI chatbot to provide instantaneous answers sourced from web searches with proper citations, all within the video chat interface.

The integration of Sonar could also bring in additional revenue for Perplexity, which is of great interest to the startup's investors. Perplexity currently offers a subscription-based model for full access to its AI search engine and added features. However, the pricing for AI tools accessed through APIs has decreased in the tech industry over the past year. Perplexity asserts that its Sonar API offers the most cost-effective AI search solution currently available in the market.