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Perplexity offers free AI tools to students worldwide in partnership with SheerID
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Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine that competes with Google and ChatGPT, has partnered with identity verification company SheerID to offer up to two years of free premium service to more than 264 million students worldwide, the companies announced Monday.
The deal tackles a key challenge for AI companies: providing educational access to expensive tools while preventing discount fraud. Perplexity is betting heavily on the education market as competition for users intensifies across the industry.
Under the agreement, verified students can access Perplexity Pro, normally priced at $20 per month, through SheerID’s verification platform that connects to more than 200,000 authoritative data sources across 190 countries. The program will be available to all university and post-secondary students globally where SheerID provides verification, making 264 million students eligible worldwide. The offering includes features like cited research, in-depth reports, and interactive AI applications.
The partnership comes as AI adoption surges among students, with 86% of U.S. students using AI tools to support their studies, according to the companies. However, the rapid growth has sparked concerns about academic integrity and the need for AI tools designed specifically for educational use.
How advanced verification technology stops sophisticated student discount fraud
SheerID, a Portland-based company founded in 2011, has built its business around solving a persistent problem for retailers and service providers: verifying that consumers actually belong to groups eligible for special discounts, such as students, military personnel, or healthcare workers.
“We verify that customer audience data, and then we enrich that brand CRM with this first party data, so that they can fully engage their most loyal audiences,” explained Rebecca Grimes, Chief Revenue Officer at SheerID, in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “Our platform is built so that we can deliver this seamless, secure and fast experience for their consumers.”
The verification process begins with basic information like name, date of birth, and university. SheerID immediately checks this against authoritative data sources, which Grimes said the company has built relationships with over 14 years in business. If instant verification fails, the system moves to document review using both AI-powered analysis and manual verification.
“If we are unable to process that through our authoritative data sources, then there is an incremental step where you add a document upload,” Grimes said. “Once that goes into our system that is another layer of supplemental review that is both automated through our AI document review process as well as, in some cases, manual doc review.”
The company can complete this secondary verification process in an average of 15 minutes globally, Grimes said.
Why identity-based marketing offers deliver 337% ROI for major brands
The partnership reflects the growing sophistication of fraud in student discount programs. Jesse Dwyer, head of communications at Perplexity, said the company’s focus on accuracy makes it particularly valuable for academic users who need trustworthy information.
“For most AI model makers, a certain amount of hallucination is a feature, and for Perplexity, it’s a bug,” Dwyer said in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “That’s something that we found academics value, students value it, finance professionals value it enormously.”
Unlike competitors that train AI models on user data, Dwyer said Perplexity doesn’t use customer information for training purposes. “We don’t train on your data,” he said. “The model doesn’t actually get trained on your data.”
SheerID operates on a software-as-a-service model, charging for platform access, verification processing volume, and support services. The company, which has about 160 employees with offices in the U.S. and Europe, works with major brands including Amazon, Spotify, and T-Mobile.
According to a study commissioned by SheerID from Forrester Consulting, customers using the company’s verification platform achieved a 337% return on investment through increased revenue, fraud prevention, and operational savings.
How Perplexity aims to beat ChatGPT and Google in the battle for student users
AI companies increasingly target the education market. Perplexity differentiates itself from larger competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s search tools by emphasizing accuracy and source attribution.
“What we do with third party models is we do two forms of adaptations,” Dwyer explained. “We build our own in-house models that look at the query that you’re asking… We’re reformulating queries. So you ask a question one way, what AI is good at is it can ask that same question 1000 different ways.”
This focus on accuracy addresses concerns among educators about AI tools that can generate plausible-sounding but incorrect information. Dwyer said Perplexity’s approach aligns with academic values around building knowledge through verified sources.
“The peer review system was developed to create a sense of accuracy… so that future generations can build on that established knowledge,” he said.
The real cost of giving away millions in free AI services to students
The student access program is a major investment for Perplexity, though company executives declined to specify the cost. Dwyer noted that unlike traditional software, AI tools have direct computational costs for each query.
“Every query has a direct cost in terms of compute,” Dwyer said. “That’s something that we’re mindful of, and we build our partnerships around.”
However, the company sees strategic value in building relationships with academic users. Unlike many tech companies that monetize through advertising, Dwyer said ads represent “less than a half of a percent of our revenue” and the company doesn’t sell user data.
The partnership provides SheerID with exposure to the rapidly growing AI market. Grimes compared the current moment to the early days of music streaming, when SheerID began working with Spotify and other services.
“I think that we’re going to see similar global programs in the AI industry, beyond just engaging with students that will be needed, needing services like SheerID to support their success,” she said.
How student data stays protected in an era of AI privacy concerns
Both companies emphasized their approach to data privacy, particularly important given recent concerns about AI companies’ use of personal information. SheerID operates as a data processor rather than controller, meaning customer data belongs to the brand partner rather than SheerID.
“We’re processors, so we’re not a controller, so we are just processing that data on behalf of that brand,” Grimes explained. “We don’t take control of the ownership of that consumer data.”
The verification system looks at additional signals beyond documents to prevent fraud, including IP address location and proximity to claimed universities. This “triangulation of all of these processes and data” allows SheerID to “confidently confirm eligibility or ineligibility against an offer,” Grimes said.
What this partnership signals for the future of AI in education
The partnership reflects broader trends in both the AI and identity verification industries. SheerID has expanded rapidly in recent years, launching new products for in-store verification and income-based eligibility checking. The company appointed former Ruby CEO Stephanie Copeland Weber as CEO in June 2024, as founder Jake Weatherly transitioned to a board role.
For Perplexity, founded in 2022, the education market represents a natural fit for its research-focused AI tools. The company processes more than 150 million questions weekly globally and has positioned itself as an “answer engine” that provides sourced information rather than generating creative content.
The partnership comes amid broader scrutiny of AI’s role in education, with institutions grappling with questions of academic integrity and the appropriate use of AI tools. By requiring verification and emphasizing accuracy, both companies aim to address these concerns while expanding access to AI capabilities.
“We would encourage educators and universities or researchers of any kind to reach out and try perplexity,” Dwyer said. “We’re one of the few leading tech companies that’s founded not just by a PhD student, which is fairly common, we’re founded by one who actually finished his PhD.”
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An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 17, 2025 shows the scenery along the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
An aerial drone photo shows a vehicle in a canyon near the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2025. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows the scenery along the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
An aerial drone photo shows tourists visiting a canyon near the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2025. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
Tourists riding camels visit a canyon near the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2025. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)
This photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Li Xiao)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows a grassland by the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
A man poses for a photo at a service area of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 15, 2025. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Li Xiao)
An aerial drone photo shows vehicles on the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 15, 2025. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a section of the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
An aerial drone photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows a grassland by the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
This aerial drone photo shows tourists visiting a canyon near the Duku Highway in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2025. Northwest China’s Duku Highway, considered one of the most scenic roads in the country, sees a tourism boom in the summer.
The 561-kilometer highway connects Dushanzi in the north of Xinjiang with Kuqa City in the south, running through varied landscapes that include canyons, glaciers, lakes and grasslands. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO — Curacao is becoming an important spot for travelers and investors as it experiences a notable boost in tourism and business initiatives. Recent data shows that the island welcomed 57,412 stayover visitors in June 2025, a 15 percent rise from the previous year, according to the Curaçao Tourist Board.
This increase highlights Curacao’s growing appeal as a top travel destination, well-known for its vibrant culture and diverse activities. Many tourists are taking advantage of attractive flight deals, with tickets starting around $442. Airlines like Copa Airlines provide reliable options, connecting Miami to the island and supporting travelers from across Latin America.
The hospitality scene in Curacao is thriving as well, offering luxury accommodations for those looking for a high-end experience. The Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino in Willemstad showcases elegant facilities, various dining options, and amenities such as a private beach and an infinity pool.
Beyond tourism, Curacao is demonstrating its commitment to community welfare with initiatives like the Essential Assistance Program. This effort provides free household goods and grocery support for families in need, aiming for inclusive economic growth.
The island is also known for its culinary innovations, including Combier Curaçao Le Bleu, the world’s first Premium Blue Curacao. This product highlights Curacao’s dedication to quality and appeals to both residents and visitors.
Visitors can explore Curacao with numerous excursions, including tours at the Curaçao Liqueur Distillery and Klein Curacao day trips that feature premium BBQ lunch options. These activities enhance the unique cultural experience available to tourists.
As families plan vacations, Curacao is competing well with other Caribbean hot spots like St. Thomas and Aruba. With its cultural richness and leisure opportunities, it remains an attractive choice for diverse family experiences.
Analysts foresee continued visitor growth, supported by strategic initiatives and the island’s charm. As Curacao progresses, it strives to provide exceptional experiences for both tourists and locals, solidifying its role as a leading Caribbean destination.
Funding & Investment in Travel
DRC’s maiden “World Music and Tourism Festival” officially opened by President Tshisekedi
Fally Ipupa headlines electrifying first night as Congo takes centre stage in global celebration of music and culture.
The rhythm of Congolese Rumba echoed through the capital on Wednesday as President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo officially opened the first-ever World Music and Tourism Festival in Kinshasa, setting the tone for a landmark event that merges culture, tourism, and diplomacy under the theme “The Rumba Route for Peace.”
The opening ceremony, held at the Central African Cultural and Arts Centre (CCAPAC), brought together cultural leaders, artists, international partners, and dignitaries from across the globe. President Tshisekedi thanked the Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili and his team at of UN Tourism for partnering with the Congolese government to bring the maiden edition of the festival to life, noting that the DRC would leverage this platform to promote peace, unity, and tourism development.
In his first official visit to the DRC, Pololikashvili addressed a packed hall of dignitaries, artists, cultural leaders and Congolese citizens. In a deeply personal and forward-looking speech, he noted that “it is a great honour to join you in Kinshasa, a city full of rhythm and energy.”
“Today, the DRC is making history. You are not only hosting a festival. You are sharing Congolese Rumba with the world. This music, recognised by UNESCO, tells the story of your people. It is a living link between Africa and the Americas.”
He also stressed the global significance of the festival. “Both music and tourism are instruments of peace. They break down barriers, foster understanding, and remind us of our common humanity. This festival shows what African tourism can be – inclusive, authentic, and proudly rooted in culture.”
The official opening was elevated by stirring choral performances and traditional Congolese music and dance, which brought vibrancy and local flavour to the ceremony in a rich cultural setting. The audience – made up of government officials, cultural leaders, international partners, and artists – was visibly moved by the authentic expressions of Congolese identity and artistry.
After the ceremony, President Tshisekedi led high-level dignitaries to tour the Cultural Village, an immersive exhibition space showcasing Congolese fashion, crafts, gastronomy and visual arts.
As the sun set, the celebration continued with a massive open-air concert headlined by Fally Ipupa at the People’s Palace, on the forecourt of the National Assembly.
Drawing thousands of people, the show blended Rumba’s timeless melodies with urban rhythm and pop flair, bringing Kinshasa to life and marking a thrilling conclusion to Day 1. Fally’s performance – powerful, polished and deeply rooted in tradition – embodied the spirit of the festival: Congolese excellence with global resonance.
On Day 2 – Thursday, July 17
Day 2 of the World Music and Tourism Festival will focused on dialogue, innovation, and industry development at the Central African Cultural and Arts Centre (CCAPAC). Key highlights included “Transatlantic Rhythms for Peace,” a high-level roundtable exploring music as a tool for diplomacy between Africa, the Americas and beyond, as well as the “Fair Play” session, which tackled issues around copyright, artist rights, and equitable participation in the music tourism economy.
A dedicated masterclass also provided artists and stakeholders with practical insights into intellectual property and sustainable business models.
Additional sessions explored music’s role in destination branding through the panel “Music at the Heart of Tourism,” and how digital platforms and youth-led innovation were reshaping the creative landscape in “From Vinyl to Viral.”
A fireside chat with renowned Congolese musician Jean Goubald Kalala, moderated by Kojo Bentum-Williams, will offer a personal perspective on the evolution of Congolese Rumba.
The World Music and Tourism Festival continues through Friday 18 July, with Kinshasa proudly at its centre – where the beat of Rumba becomes the heartbeat of peace.
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