Perplexity Expands with Acquisition of AI Design Startup

Perplexity has acquired the team behind Visual Electric, a Sequoia-backed AI design startup, in a move that highlights Perplexity’s ambitions to go beyond search and build richer consumer experiences.

The deal, confirmed by Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, folds Visual Electric’s designers and engineers into a new Agent Experiences group at Perplexity.

This unit will focus on consumer-facing features inside the company’s main app and its AI-powered Comet browser.

What Happened

Perplexity announced it will absorb the entire Visual Electric team, known for building interactive AI design tools for image and video creation.

Visual Electric’s platform allowed designers to generate images on an infinite canvas, refine them interactively, and later turn still images into short videos for storytelling.

As part of the transition, Visual Electric confirmed on its website that its standalone product will shut down within 90 days.

Customers will continue to have access during this period, with support for data exports, account access, credits, and prorated refunds for subscriptions.

The company also noted that Perplexity will provide a small “gift” to users as a gesture of thanks for supporting the service.

Why It Matters

This acquisition signals Perplexity’s expansion into multimodal and creative AI tools at a time when visual and video AI are quickly becoming standard across the industry.

The company now wants to blend grounded search with creation and agentic workflows allowing users to not just find answers, but also generate, edit, and refine visual content.

The move comes as competitors like OpenAI (with its Sora video tool) and Google (with its Nano Banana image generator) are already pushing heavily into the creative AI space.

Acquiring Visual Electric gives Perplexity a faster path to catch up and differentiate itself with design-focused talent and technology.

About Visual Electric

Visual Electric startup built an AI platform with an infinite canvas interface, letting designers generate, refine, and iterate on images interactively.

Later, it expanded to support video generation, turning stills into animated sequences for dynamic storytelling.

Visual Electric raised about $2.5 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, BoxGroup, and Designer Fund, and quickly built a following among professional and independent designers.

What Changes for Users

Visual Electric users will see the following transition steps over the next 90 days:

• Continued access to accounts and design projects during the wind-down.
• Data export tools for saving creations.
• Handling of credits and prorated refunds for paying customers.
• Service shutdown once the 90-day period ends.
• The company said it will provide clear instructions to ensure a smooth handover and confirmed that Perplexity is committed to honoring user data portability.

Perplexity’s Product Direction

Perplexity’s new Agent Experiences division will focus on building:

• Interactive search flows that combine answers with generative visuals.
• Consumer-friendly AI agents that help users with creative tasks.
• Visual-first workflows inside both the Perplexity app and the Comet browser.

CEO Srinivas stated on social media that new features will roll out soon, though he did not specify details.

Industry watchers expect early releases to combine search, reasoning, and image or video generation in a single workflow.

Competitive Context

The timing of this deal comes as AI visual tools dominate headlines:

• OpenAI has been repositioning its Sora video technology into social use cases.
• Google’s playful Nano Banana image generator went viral this year, drawing millions of creators.
• By absorbing Visual Electric’s talent, Perplexity’s move ensures it won’t be left behind.
• By absorbing Visual Electric’s talent, it can accelerate multimodal innovation and appeal to both mainstream consumers and power users.

Future Outlook

Industry analysts say AI platforms are shifting beyond search toward multimodal tools that mix knowledge with creativity.

By adding Visual Electric’s design talent, Perplexity strengthens its position against rivals like OpenAI and Google, aiming to become a go-to hub for answers and creation.

News Gist

Perplexity acquires Visual Electric team, integrating their design and AI video expertise into a new Agent Experiences group.

Visual Electric’s product will shut down in 90 days, with refunds and data export available for users.

FAQs

1. Who was acquired by Perplexity?

The team behind Visual Electric, an AI image and video design startup.

2. Will Visual Electric’s product continue?

No, it will shut down in 90 days, with user data export and prorated refunds available.

3. What is the new Perplexity team called?

Agent Experiences, focused on multimodal, creative AI features for Perplexity and Comet browser users.

4. Why is this acquisition important?

It helps Perplexity expand beyond search into visual and video AI, competing with OpenAI and Google.

5. Who founded Visual Electric?

Colin Dunn, Adam Menges, and Zach Stiggelbout, all with tech backgrounds at Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.

6. What can users expect next?

Near-term releases combining search, reasoning, and generative visual tools within Perplexity and Comet.