Perplexity released Portable Computer, a version of its task-running assistant that works entirely on a user's own Nvidia hardware, so files and the model stay on the machine and the work costs nothing per use. It ships today for paid subscribers on Linux, with Windows to follow in September, and requires a fairly powerful graphics card. The agent can ask permission to send a step to a stronger cloud model when the local one falls short, and the performance figures cited come from Perplexity's own tests.
What changed
Perplexity's agent platform ran in the cloud and metered work in billing credits, and local AI setups had to be assembled piece by piece.
What it unlocks
Running multi-step document and data work on a desktop machine, with files and model staying on the device and no per-token charge.
- 24GB VRAM minimum
- $0.415 vs $0.65 per task
- 82.6% vs 77.6% on internal bench
- Windows support in September
What you need to act on it
- Perplexity Pro, Max, Enterprise Pro or Enterprise Max subscription
- Linux (Windows in September)
- Nvidia DGX Spark or an RTX GPU with at least 24GB of VRAM
Sources