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Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine, wants to reach devices — sort of.
Aravind Srinivas, Founder and CEO, Perplexity, to publish On the He promised that Perplexity would “definitely” sell such a device if the post received more than 5,000 likes.
I did. “Fine. LFG!”, Srinivas He replied.
It’s fine. LFG! https://t.co/hMw3eugb0l
– Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) November 26, 2024
The devices have become something of an obsession among high-profile AI startups — partly because of their cachet, but also because new AI-focused form factors have the potential to enable new types of interactions. Art creator Midjourney formed a hardware team in August, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently confirmed that he is working with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on an AI hardware project.
But the hardware is difficult.
Rabbit’s R1 is perhaps one of the most successful AI devices in recent years, and is available in abundance At huge discounts on eBay. Rabbit claims to have sold around 130,000 units as of June, but the startup has been slow to deliver many of the features it announced before the R1’s launch.
Other AI hardware projects have crashed and burned, the human example being the most extreme. The startup has promoted the Ai Pin, a futuristic wearable device, as a kind of smartphone replacement. But the reviews were terrible, sales were poor, and the safety issue forced Humane to turn The case indicates. It wasn’t long before Humane was looking for an acquirer.
Now, Perplexity has a lot of cash in the bank — and is reportedly on the verge of raising about half a billion dollars. This is one component of the hardware’s success. But with history as our guide, there’s a lot that needs to go right if a company hopes to achieve great success (or at least avoid failure).
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