Perplexity has launched Portable Computer, a version of its Perplexity Computer agent designed with NVIDIA to run directly on local hardware. This approach, initially available on DGX Spark, allows private data to remain stored on the device and enables task execution without consuming Perplexity credits.
Portable Computer translates the capabilities of Perplexity Computer onto a local machine, allowing users to analyze data, synthesize files, and execute complex workflows without systematically relying on the cloud. At launch, the service operates on NVIDIA DGX Spark under Linux, though support for PCs equipped with NVIDIA RTX GPUs and Windows is planned for later release.
Local Architecture and Hybrid Operation
The entire infrastructure required for the agent runs directly on the device. This includes the orchestrator, scheduler, tool router, task manager, and local search index. By processing these components locally, the system ensures that private files remain on the machine and tasks run locally do not consume Perplexity credits.
However, Portable Computer utilizes a hybrid approach. When a task requires advanced research or greater reasoning capacity, the local model may request authorization to utilize the cloud. Perplexity specifies that even in such cases, sensitive information remains securely stored on the device.
Capabilities and Integration
The system offers flexibility through its supported models, initially supporting Qwen 3.8 27B or PPLX 27B, which is a version of the model fine-tuned by Perplexity. Additionally, NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is slated to join the available selection later.
While Portable Computer can work with local files, it also features connectivity to major cloud applications such as Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, or GitHub. To maintain security, code execution and tool usage are isolated within sandboxed environments that provide controlled access to connected files and applications.
Hardware Requirements and Future Roadmap
This localized capability requires appropriate hardware. Portable Computer is initially offered on the NVIDIA DGX Spark, which features 128 GB of unified memory and is priced at $4,699 in the United States. Perplexity plans to expand its functionality to PCs equipped with NVIDIA RTX GPUs afterward.
With Portable Computer, Perplexity is exploring a model where agents can complete an increasing portion of their work directly on the user's hardware while reserving cloud resources only for tasks that require them.
