Perplexity's free Pro giveaway to Airtel's 360M users drove 625% download surge
thisiskp_ · x · 2026-08-18
Perplexity partnered with Airtel, India's second-largest telecom operator, to give a free 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription (worth $200) to the carrier's 360 million customers — one of the biggest AI growth experiments to date.
Perplexity saw 5.9 million app downloads in India in July 2025, up 625% month-over-month, per Sensor Tower data shared with TechCrunch. Redemptions closed on January 16, and the earliest free users began expiring last month, having to opt out of auto-renewal to avoid charges. As the giveaways lapse, the experiment will test whether bundling paid AI services can create lasting users and revenue after the free period ends.
More from Venture
- Indie team hits stable £500/day across two products as members volunteer for 3am shifts — yihui_indie · 2026-10-16
- Prediction: frontier AI revenue growth could slow even as AI usage keeps rising — yi111 · 2026-10-16
- Box CEO Aaron Levie: agent wallets finally make micropayments a good business model — kleffew94 · 2026-10-16
- Surplus incubator offers $100k SAFEs for AI-era for-profit public-good startups in SF — NathanpmYoung · 2026-10-16
- fomo.family creator rewards hit $102,985 for top user just 6 weeks after launch — benaratame · 2026-10-16
- Cal AI banked $30M in two years on influencer marketing, sold to MyFitness — TechCrunch AI · 2026-10-16