AI Startup Perplexity to Distribute $42.5 Mil. to News Outlets Amid Lawsuits Over Unauthorized Article Use

By Yasuhiro Kobayashi/Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

14:41 JST, August 28, 2025

NEW YORK — U.S. startup Perplexity AI, Inc. told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday that it will begin providing a portion of its revenue to news organizations within the next few months.

The company, which offers a search engine that utilizes generative artificial intelligence, plans to distribute over $42.5 million (about ¥6.3 billion) to news organizations participating in its new service.

Perplexity plans to launch a new subscription service called “Comet Plus” within the next few months. The new service will cost $5 per month (about ¥740), and 80% of the revenue will be distributed to news organizations based on the number of articles used and other conditions. The amount distributed will initially be $42.5 million and is expected to increase every month.

This month, The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper companies, Nikkei Inc. and The Asahi Shimbun Co. filed lawsuits against Perplexity, seeking injunctions to halt the unauthorized use of their articles and are demanding compensation for damages.

Perplexity was founded in 2022 and its business has been growing rapidly. It is estimated to have more than 30 million users. However, its unauthorized use of articles from news organizations has become an issue.

Trying to resolve misunderstandings

By Kayo Goto / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

LOS ANGELES — Perplexity AI, Inc. told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday it is working to resolve misunderstandings regarding a lawsuit filed by Nikkei Inc. and The Asahi Shimbun Co. against the U.S. startup for allegedly using the news organizations’ articles without their permission.

Perplexity said it has not confirmed the details of the lawsuit and cannot comment further at this time. The company added that it asks for patience while it works to resolve the misunderstandings.