AI Company aims to provide premium search features at no cost to Indian students, partnering with local payment platforms to expand accessibility
CHENNAI, February 28, 2025 – Conversational artificial intelligence platform Perplexity announced plans to roll out the pro version of its AI platform free of charge for students across India, a move that could significantly impact education technology adoption in the Tamil Nadu startup ecosystem.
During an online session with Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Perplexity Co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas revealed that the company has set an ambitious goal to ensure no student should have to pay for its Pro plan, though he acknowledged challenges in implementing a mass market rollout.
“We are working with a student group on WhatsApp. We are aiming for close to a million sign-ups by mid-March,” Srinivas said. “Our goal is to make sure that no student has to pay for a pro version of Perplexity anywhere in the world. If you put out a slogan where knowledge begins then you have to be serious about it. Knowledge matters most to the student. We want to bring it to India for students.”
The initiative comes at a time when access to advanced AI tools is becoming increasingly important for education and research. While Perplexity’s free plan offers basic search functionality, the Pro version includes enhanced features such as image generation tools and unlimited file uploads that can significantly benefit students engaged in academic projects and research.
This move by Perplexity appears to be partly in response to growing competition from platforms like Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which has triggered industry-wide demands for more affordable AI solutions. Similar requests were made to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his visit to India earlier this month, highlighting a growing push for democratized access to advanced AI tools across the country.
For the broader user base, Srinivas indicated that Perplexity is working on more affordable subscription options below the current $20 price point, along with exploring payment solutions through Indian fintech platforms like Paytm.
“We are figuring out a way to make the pro plan widely accessible to everybody without them having to pay $20 equivalent… give us a few months, or even a few weeks, to figure it out. These things are moving really fast. I don’t want to give you a poor timeline here,” Srinivas explained.
Currently, Paytm features Perplexity’s AI on its platform, but users seeking premium features must pay in US dollars, creating a barrier for many potential Indian subscribers. Addressing payment integration challenges, Srinivas noted, “The UPI or Paytm payment app, the fundamental model there is, we work around with the stripe APIs, and I think it’s pretty difficult to accept those kinds of payments right now. I hope we can figure our solution together pretty soon.”
The potential collaboration between Perplexity and Paytm could offer additional user benefits beyond simplified payments. “Collaboration with Paytm can help users in different ways including checking about any entity they want to pay to,” Srinivas added, suggesting that the AI platform could be integrated with Paytm’s payment verification systems.
Dr. Lakshmi Narayanan, Director of the Centre for Technology Innovation at Anna University in Chennai, views this development as particularly significant for Tamil Nadu’s growing AI ecosystem. “With Chennai emerging as a hub for AI startups, Perplexity’s initiative could accelerate AI literacy among students in the region. This may lead to increased innovation and startup formation in the AI space within our local ecosystem,” she told StartNet.
According to recent data from the Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM), education technology accounts for approximately 18% of the state’s startup ecosystem, with AI-focused ventures growing at a rate of 32% annually since 2022. Perplexity’s entry with free pro access for students could potentially accelerate this growth.
For Tamil Nadu’s burgeoning startup ecosystem, Perplexity’s initiative presents numerous opportunities. The state’s strong educational institutions, particularly in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai, have been producing technology talent that increasingly feeds into the startup ecosystem. Access to advanced AI tools could enhance this talent pipeline while simultaneously creating partnership opportunities for local startups in areas like education technology, language processing (particularly for Tamil language applications), and specialized search solutions.
The announcement comes as Tamil Nadu has been actively promoting AI adoption through initiatives like the Tamil Nadu AI Mission and dedicated AI parks. The state government recently allocated ₹350 crores for AI infrastructure development and education programs across universities and colleges.
As Perplexity works toward its mid-March target of a million student sign-ups, the company’s initiative represents a significant step toward democratizing access to advanced AI technology for educational purposes in India. By removing financial barriers for students, Perplexity’s approach may set a precedent for how global AI companies engage with emerging markets while fostering innovation within local startup ecosystems.
While the timeline for full implementation remains flexible, the commitment to making advanced AI search capabilities freely available to students signals a potential shift in how AI platforms approach education markets in developing economies.
