Thursday, 5 March, 2026
Perplexity Leverages India Tie-up as “Shortcut” to Outpace OpenAI
By Isha
Perplexity AI is accelerating its global expansion by targeting India, forming an exclusive partnership with Bharti Airtel to offer free 12-month Pro subscriptions to ~360 million users—normally valued at ₹17,000/year. This strategy fueled a 600% increase in Q2 downloads and 640% rise in Indian MAUs, positioning India as a pivotal growth lever against ChatGPT. With ~30 million users worldwide and an $18 billion valuation, Perplexity is using India to outflank OpenAI in scale and adoption.
Read full story at TechCrunch