Perplexity Ships a Mac Mini That Never Sleeps: 'Personal Computer' Is an Always-On Local AI Agent
Perplexity announced a hardware-software product that pairs a continuously running Mac mini with its AI stack, giving users a persistent local agent that operates across files, apps, and sessions around the clock. It's the company's boldest bet yet — and a direct challenge to the cloud-only orthodoxy.
Perplexity unveiled Personal Computer on Wednesday, a product that pairs a Mac mini with the company's Perplexity Computer software to create what it describes as an always-on, local AI agent that "works for you 24/7," as the company announced. The device integrates with a user's files, applications, and active sessions, running continuously in the background rather than waiting for a prompt.
The philosophical pitch is simple but ambitious: your AI shouldn't live in a browser tab. It should live on your desk. CEO Arav Srinivas framed the product as a digital worker, writing that "Perplexity Computer emulates the output of a digital worker because AI uses the computer the same way humans do." That language — "digital worker," not "assistant" — signals how the company wants this positioned: not as a chatbot upgrade, but as a new category of compute.
Get our free daily newsletter
Get this article free — plus the lead story every day — delivered to your inbox.
Want every article and the full archive? Upgrade anytime.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.