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Perplexity’s free AI offer left it with millions more users in India
The lesson here is about monetization, not growth: a huge free-tier user base from a telco bundle converted into real revenue once the freebie stopped, meaning the users who stuck around actually wanted the product. For anyone running a similar carrier-bundle growth strategy, this is a data point that free distribution can work as a funnel rather than just a vanity metric. Still small in absolute dollar terms for a company valued in the billions.