- Sentient, backed by Peter Thiel, is releasing an open-source AI search model, Open Deep Search (ODS).
- It outperforms Perplexity and Perplexity Sonar in search and reasoning.
- ODS is currently being tested by early users, with weekly updates planned.
Sentient, a decentralized AI developer backed by Peter Thiel is launching an open source AI search framework called open deep search (ODS). It has the potential to perform better than Perplexity.
Sentient is releasing ODS as an open-source technology to make AI accessible for everyone, as stated by co-founder of the company, Himashu Tyagi. He also said “Open-sourcing a framework that outperforms industry leaders like Perplexity throws down the gauntlet to closed-source AI developers”.
The capabilities of ODS were initially showcased infront of 1500 developers and builders of cryptocurrency and AI technologies during Open AGI Summit at ETH Denver.
It is the first-ever open-source AI search framework to surpass Perplexity, including its advanced version, Perplexity Sonar Reasoning Pro, in terms of search and reasoning functionality.
The purpose of Open Deep Search is to enhance the performance of Sentient Chat, the company’s chatbot, which already has a massive waiting list of over 1.75 million users.
ODS is tested and evaluated using industry-standard benchmarks
FRAMES, the test that measures how well an AI model can handle multi-reasoning questions, has been approved by Open Deep Search. Moreover, ODS has also scored high for SimpleQA, which tests the AI model’s ability to answer straightforward, factual questions accurately.
ODS’s developer company was founded by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. It was funded with $85 million. The seed round was led by Patera Capital and Framework Ventures and backed by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
Sentient’s ODS is currently being tested with new weekly updates.
Sentient is an AI platform designed to create AI models that are owned and controlled by the community rather than by a single company or authority. Its flagship model launched at the start of 2025. Dobby already serves over 660,000 users.
Sentient Chat continues this mission by providing practical, user-focused AI solutions that prioritize user control and accessibility.
Open Deep Search (ODS) is only available to a limited group of early testers. Sentient will update new features every week ahead of the the full release. It will be publicly available within the next teo months through Sentient Chat.
The launch of ODS demonstrates that open-source solutions can surpass closed-source in performance despite having a limited development budget.
