Talks underway between Perplexity and phone makers to preload Comet AI browser on devices

Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI is in discussions with mobile device makers to pre-install its new Comet browser on smartphones. CEO Aravind Srinivas said that the move could significantly boost Perplexity’s reach by capitalizing on browser “stickiness”, where users tend to stick with browser apps that are pre-installed or set as default on their devices.

Perplexity, according to Srinivas, aims to target "tens to hundreds of millions" of users next year after stabilizing the desktop version for a few hundred thousand initial testers.

Referring to original equipment manufacturers and highlighting the challenge of user inertia on mobile platforms, Srinivas said, "It's not easy to convince mobile OEMs to change the default browser to Comet from Chrome."

Comet, currently in beta and available only on desktops, integrates Perplexity's AI directly into web browsing, allowing users to ask questions about personal data like emails, calendars, or browsing history, and even perform tasks such as scheduling meetings or summarizing webpages.

Perplexity’s latest efforts reflect a broader industry shift toward browsers with agentic AI capabilities, ones that need minimal human intervention to make decisions and achieve specific tasks.

Perplexity has completed a $500 million investment round, which valued it at $14 billion earlier this year with investors Accel, Nvidia, Jeff Bezos and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.