AI startup Perplexity has launched its AI-powered web browser, Comet, which will further disrupt the way we use the internet and challenge Google Search as the primary source of information to find information online.

Comet will currently be available to Perplexity Max subscribers, it said in a blog post. For the wider rollout, Comet will be an invite-only product for which people will have to wait over the summer. New users will also receive a limited number of invites to share, it added.

Perplexity's new offering is designed to help people who spend hours and hours on the internet for work, research and daily task. It eliminates the need for opening multiple tabs and navigating through them unlike traditional browsers like Google Chrome.

"Comet transforms entire browsing sessions into single, seamless interactions, collapsing complex workflows into fluid conversations," it said.

Users can also access Comet Assistant, a new AI agent from Perplexity, which is built in the browser to automate routine tasks like summarizing email and calendar events or ask for follow up questions without needing to switch tabs.

While Comet directly challenges Google's lead as a popular browser, the tech giant hasn't been totally passive about integrating AI into Chrome in recent months. Earlier this month, Google also rolled out its AI-powered search engine AI Mode, which is similar to the way Perplexity works, in India after rolling out in the US earlier this year.

The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 has spawned an array of AI-powered companies, forcing big tech giants like Google, Meta, Amazon and Tesla to keep pace with the lightning speed AI is developing.

This means competition has also become fierce which has sparked instances of poaching talent from one another. Since last month Meta, which is building its superintelligence team headed by Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang, has been on a hiring spree, luring talents from rivals including OpenAI and Apple. Earlier this week, OpenAI also hired from Meta and Elon Musk's xAI and Tesla.

Perplexity, which is backed by investors including Jeff Bezos, Tobias Lütke, Nat Friedman and Nvidia, was founded in August 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. Its co-founder Srinivas had earlier worked at OpenAI. 

By April 2024, Perplexity had raised $165 million in funding and stormed into the unicorn club of startups valued at $1 billion at least.

In May, media reports said that Perplexity was in late-stage talks to raise $500 million at $14 billion valuation.