TL;DR
- Perplexity partners exclusively with Airtel to offer free 12-month Perplexity Pro subscriptions.
- India drives Perplexity’s user growth: Q2 MAUs grew 640% YoY.
- Strategic partnerships include Paytm, SoftBank, and SK Telecom.
- Revenue remains a challenge — $8M globally vs. ChatGPT’s $773M in Q2.
- Perplexity betting on India’s mass market and tech-savvy youth for scale.
India: Perplexity’s Shortcut to Scale
While OpenAI continues to lead the AI race in the U.S., search-focused AI startup Perplexity is tapping into a different strategy — aggressive expansion into India, the world’s second-largest internet and smartphone market. This week, Perplexity announced a landmark deal with Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom provider.
Under the agreement, all 360 million Airtel subscribers will receive a free 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription, valued at $200, making this the company’s most aggressive push yet into a mass-market demographic. Airtel confirmed to TechCrunch that this is an exclusive partnership, shutting out rival telecoms from offering Perplexity services.
This follows Perplexity’s broader global expansion strategy, which now includes over 25 telecom partnerships worldwide — such as those with SoftBank in Japan and SK Telecom in South Korea.
Growth Metrics: India Outpaces Global Markets
According to Sensor Tower data, Perplexity’s expansion into India is already yielding results:
| Metric | Q2 2025 | YoY Growth | Source |
| Downloads in India | 2.8M | ↑ 600% | Sensor Tower |
| ChatGPT Downloads (India) | 46.7M | ↑ 587% | Sensor Tower |
| Perplexity MAUs (India) | 3.7M | ↑ 640% | Sensor Tower |
| ChatGPT MAUs (India) | 19.8M | ↑ 350% | Sensor Tower |
Despite the significant gap in absolute numbers, the growth rate for Perplexity is outpacing ChatGPT in India — making it the company’s top market by MAUs in Q2.
Fintech & Telecom Integration: Paytm and Airtel
Earlier this year, Perplexity partnered with Indian fintech giant Paytm to integrate its AI-powered search directly into the app, which boasts over 500 million downloads and handles over 1.2 billion monthly transactions through the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system.
The Paytm collaboration allowed Perplexity to tap into India’s digital financial ecosystem, expanding its reach among everyday users and businesses alike.
CEO Aravind Srinivas has further reinforced his India strategy, announcing a $1 million commitment and a pledge to dedicate five hours per week to support India’s emerging AI ecosystem. Though he paused hiring a local executive after an “overwhelming” response, the intention to scale locally remains.
User Base vs. Revenue: A Lingering Gap
While user growth in India is promising, monetizing that user base remains an uphill battle for Perplexity.
Globally, in Q2 2025:
| Company | In-App Revenue | YoY Growth | Source |
| ChatGPT | $773M | ↑ 731% | Sensor Tower |
| Perplexity | $8M | ↑ 300% | Sensor Tower |
In India, ChatGPT saw $9 million in in-app purchases in Q2 — an 800% YoY increase. Meanwhile, Perplexity has yet to register meaningful revenue from its Indian operations, despite millions of users. Still, the Airtel deal may provide an important on-ramp to build a paid subscriber base in the long term.
Why India is the Battleground for AI Search
Several factors make India a prime expansion target for Perplexity:
- Young, tech-savvy population receptive to AI services.
- Limited domestic AI search competition, unlike in the West.
- Even Google launched its AI Mode and AI Overviews in India ahead of global rollouts — underlining the country’s significance.
Perplexity has also discussed internally the possibility of offering free AI access to students in India, an initiative aimed at growing both reach and long-term adoption.
Investor Watch: Scaling First, Monetization Later
Perplexity’s India strategy appears geared more toward volume and geographic diversification than short-term profits. As global investors increasingly look at user base and engagement metrics as indicators of long-term value, India’s growth story could help Perplexity build credibility against entrenched players like OpenAI.
However, for this momentum to translate into meaningful venture capital backing or a sustainable business model, the startup will need to convert its audience into paying users — a feat yet to be achieved in emerging markets.
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch.
