Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas is gearing up to take on tech giant Google with the release of an AI-powered browser, Comet, and a partnership with Motorola to preinstall its AI assistant on Android phones. In an interview, Srinivas revealed that Comet will be launched next month, marking a significant shift in the company's strategy to focus on building agents that can perform actions on behalf of users.

The partnership with Motorola is a major win for Perplexity, allowing its AI assistant to reach millions of new customers. Srinivas credited the antitrust scrutiny on Google for creating an opportunity for Perplexity to enter into distribution deals with Android phone manufacturers. He noted that Google's dominance in the search market has made it difficult for smaller startups like Perplexity to compete, but the company's recent struggles have opened up new avenues for growth.

Perplexity's AI assistant has already gained significant traction, with nearly 30 million monthly active users and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. Srinivas aims to expand the company's reach by working with telcos and OEMs, and eventually, building a browser that can access third-party services and perform actions on behalf of users. He believes that owning the browser interface will be crucial in the AI race, as it will enable Perplexity to build agents that can take actions and make decisions autonomously.

Srinivas also discussed the challenges of building an AI assistant that can control other apps, citing the limitations of iOS and Android operating systems. He revealed that Perplexity has developed a workaround using the Apple EventKit SDK, which allows the assistant to access certain Apple apps and perform actions. However, he acknowledged that building an OS-level agent is still a significant challenge, and that's why Perplexity is focusing on building a browser that can access third-party services and perform actions on behalf of users.

The move into the browser space is a strategic one, as Srinivas believes that answering questions will become a commodity in the AI race. Instead, he wants to focus on building agents that can perform actions and make decisions autonomously, which will require access to user data and the ability to interact with third-party services. Perplexity's browser will be designed to share cookies across all apps, allowing the assistant to access user data and perform actions seamlessly.

Srinivas' ambitions don't stop at the browser. He wants to build a full-fledged operating system that can compete with Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. He believes that the ultimate goal is to build an OS that can understand user behavior and make decisions autonomously, which will require significant advancements in AI technology.

The article also touched on Perplexity's bid for TikTok, which Srinivas acknowledged was not successful. He attributed the failure to ByteDance's desire to retain control of the algorithm and the difficulty of decoupling the app from its Chinese operations.

In conclusion, Perplexity's CEO Aravind Srinivas is taking a bold step into the AI browser space, challenging Google's dominance and paving the way for a new generation of AI-powered agents. With its partnership with Motorola and its focus on building a browser that can access third-party services, Perplexity is well-positioned to become a major player in the AI race.