December 2024 Summaries

Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a retrieval engine that connects external data sources to large language models, and plans to integrate its connectors so users can link services such as Notion and Google Docs directly to Perplexity. Carbon’s full team will join Perplexity to accelerate product development, with the technology intended to help the answer engine draw on internal databases, cloud storage, document repositories, and other personal or workplace information sources. The company says this capability supports its goal of consolidating relevant insights from multiple apps, messages, and webpages into a single answer. The acquisition follows Perplexity’s 2024 expansion, which included Enterprise Pro, Spaces, Internal File Search, shopping tools, and live earnings-call transcript analysis, with further developments planned for 2025.

Perplexity’s inaugural Campus Strategist Program supports college students in promoting AI search through campus events, outreach, and community-building, providing participants with marketing budgets, mentorship, vouchers, and merchandise. Strategists organized initiatives including MIT’s Future of Search event, which attracted more than 200 students and featured AI experts and Perplexity leaders; a popular Perplexity API track at the University of Washington’s DubHacks hackathon; a branded banner flyover during USC’s Thanksgiving football game; and a Carnegie Mellon boba event demonstrating features such as Finance Search and image generation. Other activities included a Wharton speaker and networking event focused on startup growth and AI’s educational and business applications, as well as a Santa Clara University case competition on sustainability and social impact in business. Perplexity is accepting applications for its spring 2025 program and encourages students to use its platform for research, brainstorming, and exam preparation.

Perplexity has expanded its Publishers’ Program by adding more than a dozen media partners, including ADWEEK, the Los Angeles Times, The Independent, Prisa Media, RTL Germany’s stern and ntv, and World History Encyclopedia, marking its first partnerships in the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, and Latin America. The program aims to support an open information ecosystem while improving the breadth, relevance, and geographic diversity of Perplexity’s answers through publishers’ reporting and specialized coverage. Participating organizations share advertising revenue, receive API access, developer support, a year of Enterprise Pro access for their staff, and ongoing analytics on content performance and trends. Perplexity says more than 100 publishers have expressed interest since the initiative launched publicly in July, and it has appointed former LinkedIn executive Jessica Chan as Head of Publisher Partnerships to develop the program. The company also highlights collaborations with Northwestern University’s Medill School and beehiiv and invites additional publishers to inquire about joining.

Perplexity has partnered with Charity Navigator to provide users with direct access to information on more than 225,000 U.S. registered nonprofits, including assessments of financial health, accountability, impact, leadership, and organizational culture. Launching after Giving Tuesday, when millions of Americans donate billions of dollars, the integration is intended to help donors identify charities aligned with their values and make more informed giving decisions, with options to donate through Charity Navigator’s Giving Basket. The announcement also encourages nonprofits to keep their Charity Navigator profiles current to ensure accurate representation in Perplexity and notes that discounted Enterprise Pro access is available for nonprofit organizations.