Perplexity mulls getting into hardware

Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine, wants to get into hardware — kinda sorta.

Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity’s founder and CEO, posted on X yesterday that he was considering making a “simple, under $50” device to “reliably answer” questions “voice to voice.” He promised that Perplexity would “definitely” sell such a device if the post got more than 5,000 likes.

It did. “Alright. LFG!,” Srinivas replied.

Alright. LFG! https://t.co/hMw3eugb0l

— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) November 26, 2024

Hardware is becoming something of an obsession among high-profile AI startups — in part because of its cachet, but also because new AI-focused form factors have the potential to enable new kinds of interactions. Art generator Midjourney formed a hardware team in August, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently confirmed he’s working with ex-Apple design chief Jony Ive on an AI hardware project.

But hardware is hard.

Rabbit’s R1, perhaps one of the most successful AI devices in recent years, is available in abundance at steep discounts on eBay. Rabbit claims to have sold around 130,000 units as of June, but the startup has been slow to deliver on many of the features it advertised ahead of the R1’s launch.

Other AI device ventures have crashed and burned — Humane being the most extreme example. The startup touted its Ai Pin, a futuristic wearable device, as a sort of smartphone replacement. But the reviews were dreadful, sales were weak, and safety issue forced Humane to issue recalls. Before long, Humane was on the hunt for an acquirer.

Now, Perplexity has a lot of cash in the bank — and it’s said to be close to raising around a half a billion dollars. That’s one ingredient for hardware success. But with history as our guide, there’s a lot else that has to go right if the company hopes to have a hit on its hands (or at least avoid a dud).