Where does Perplexity sit in this race? I was aware of their "deep research" first, but that doesn't mean it was. They've recently removed (limited) use of it

Where does Perplexity sit in this race? I was aware of their "deep research" first, but that doesn't mean it was. They've recently removed (limited) use of it from the free plan, so I guess it was costing more than they were making from paid subscribers