SoftBank and Perplexity bring 1-year free premium AI services to Japan

SoftBank and Perplexity AI announced a partnership to bring generative AI services to people in Japan through 1-year of free premium services as a “trial”.

Customers need to sign up for the trial phase using SoftBank, Y!Mobile, and LINEMO mobile services starting June 19, 2024, to use Perplexity Pro. This tier in Japan is priced at 2,950 yen per month and 29,500 yen per year.

Curiosity speaks every language. That’s why we’re excited to partner with @SoftBank to bring Perplexity to their customers across Japan! Together, we’re empowering millions more to explore, learn, and grow. SoftBank customers will get 1 year of Perplexity Pro free! pic.twitter.com/X5oEqH6nuk

— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) June 17, 2024

Perplexity uses large language models (LLM) to generate answers based on users’ questions via a user interface (UI). The Pro version enables users to select different LLMs for a tailored user experience. The trial offer will allow customers to use Perplexity Pro without paying 29,500 yen (around $187) for an entire year.

However, this offer is only valid for customers of SoftBank’s 3 platforms and applications will be accepted from 9:00 AM on June 19th. This is a major partnership for this AI startup and it will enable the company to expand its user base to a new region.

(source)