In an exciting development, Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI is making strides to challenge Google's dominance in the search engine space. The company is currently negotiating with smartphone manufacturers to have its innovative Comet AI mobile browser pre-installed on their devices, as revealed by CEO Aravind Srinivas.

This strategic move aims to exploit the tendency for users to stick with pre-installed apps, leveraging what’s known as "browser stickiness." With the right placement, Comet could transform casual users into habitual ones, significantly expanding Perplexity's footprint in the increasingly competitive AI landscape.

However, Srinivas acknowledges the uphill battle ahead: convincing mobile OEMs to replace the default browser like Chrome with Comet won't be straightforward. User habits can be extremely entrenched, creating resistance to change in mobile environments.

Currently in beta and only available on desktops, Comet seamlessly integrates Perplexity's AI capabilities into web browsing. Users can ask the browser questions regarding their personal data—emails, calendars, and browsing history—and even streamline tasks such as scheduling meetings or summarizing web pages.

Perplexity is targeting a staggering growth trajectory, with aspirations to reach "tens to hundreds of millions" of users next year, following successful stabilization of its desktop platform that has gathered a few hundred thousand testers thus far.

This initiative aligns with a larger industry trend toward browsers that incorporate advanced AI, minimizing the need for human input in decision-making processes. A recent report indicated that OpenAI is also developing a similar agentic AI browser, set to automate complex tasks like travel bookings and financial management.

As of last month, Google Chrome boasted a commanding 70% market share among mobile browsers, while Apple’s Safari and Samsung’s offerings collectively held another 24% according to Statcounter. In a bid to enhance smart assistants such as Bixby and Siri, Perplexity has reportedly been in discussions with tech giants like Samsung Electronics and Apple.

With a recent $500 million investment round that brought its valuation to an impressive $14 billion, Perplexity counts prominent investors like Accel, Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt among its backers. The future looks bright for this ambitious startup aiming to reshape our digital experiences.