300 People Called Perplexity AI & OpenAI “Most Likely to Fail.” but Why?
An informal survey at a huge AI Conference in San Francisco tagged Perplexity AI and OpenAI as future 'fail' because...
Every other day, companies like Perplexity AI and OpenAI make headlines for their technological updates, acquisitions, investments, and upcoming plans. However, a crowd of 300 at a major conference in San Francisco passed a verdict that both of these companies would be flops. Of course, they were asked, "Which billion-dollar AI startup is most likely to fail?” So, what made them come to such a conclusion? Will these companies really fail? Will this have any effect on both companies? For all that, learn more.
What Happened?
The big question was "Which billion-dollar AI startup is most likely to fail?”
The crowd’s (more than 300 people) answer was:
- #1 Most likely to flop: Perplexity AI
- #2 Most likely to flop: OpenAIPerplexity AI is raising funds quickly, and its valuation jumped from $14 billion to $50 billion in just a few months.
Note: Both of these companies are quite successful brands with millions of active users (businesses and regular people). Perplexity, especially, has grown massively in the past few years and is now directly competing with Google, both in:
- Search
- Web browsing
Perplexity Ai’s Response to This Harsh Mention?
For the record, this conference and the survey are informal and not official in nature. Yet, when asked about it, a Perplexity spokesperson, Jesse Dwyer, said:
"Geeze, it sounds more like the judgmental valley conference.”
OpenAI Also Ranked High on the “Most Likely to Fail” List
OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI companies. The company has the #1 market share (as it has the most popular AI product, ChatGPT). And yet, according to the opinion of the crowd, it came #2. But why does the crowd think that way?
Why Are People Thinking This Way?
These companies are exploring and expanding in different areas other than their main products:
Perplexity
- Started as an AI search tool
- Now, it is also challenging browsers like Google Chrome by making its services free for everyone.
OpenAI recently launched:
- ChatGPT Atlas → AI-powered web browser on October 21, 2025.
- Sora → social media-style creative video app on September 30, 2025.
- Group Chat → a feature inside ChatGPT for team usage on November 13, 2025.
Bigger Context: Fear of an “AI Bubble”
Several investors and analysts are concerned that:
- AI companies are investing huge amounts of money in AI.
- And have no idea how they'll be profitable in the long run.
- People like Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) and Mark Zuckerberg (Meta CEO) agree with this concern.
Yash Gupta
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