Perplexity AI unveils hybrid local-cloud inference system at Computex 2026

Perplexity AI, the fast-growing search startup now valued at $20 billion, unveiled what it calls the first hybrid local-server inference orchestrator at Computex 2026 on Monday night, demonstrating software that autonomously decides — in real time and mid-task — which AI workloads stay on a user's device and which get routed to frontier models in the cloud. CEO Aravind Srinivas demonstrated the system onstage alongside Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan during Intel's keynote address, using Perplexity's "Personal Computer" agent to process confidential deal materials.