Perplexity AI launched Cafe Curious in September of 2025 in South Korea's Seoul, a key strategic growth market for the company. Morita Jun, Perplexity's head of Asia, described Cafe Curious as "a space for Perplexity users to share knowledge and curiosity, where more people can experience the joy of exploring with AI." Designed with comfort in mind, the cafe features plush seating, warm ambient lighting, AI merchandise and an AI-generated playlist, and invites visitors to try artisanal coffees, teas, handcrafted beverages, and light snacks. It gives a 50% discount to Perplexity Pro subscribers, while non-subscribers can scan on-site QR codes for a one-month free trial. A dedicated basement workstation configured with Perplexity Pro allows visitors to run queries and see the AI at work "thinking" out loud on a big screen. Perplexity isn't the only AI firm trying to bridge the gap between tech and art. Eleven Labs has brought its voice AI to life through voice-powered pop-ups inside existing cafes, allowing visitors to order coffee using AI voice agents while testing real-time voice cloning and localised audio generation on the spot. Anthropic's "Zero-Slop" Claude Café pop-up offers complimentary coffee in quiet, distraction-free workspaces designed to position AI as a tool for slow, thoughtful human-AI co-creation rather than automated clutter.