Overview

Rating

10.0 / 10

Rating

Best For

B2B startups needing data ingestion from multiple sources

Best For

Data engineering teams building real-time AI/RAG pipelines that need to stay in sync with live data sources

Product Summary

Carbon, acquired by Perplexity in December 2024, provided pre-built data connectors for ingesting unstructured data from 25+ sources into LLM applications. Its managed API was wound down in March 2025, with its technology now integrated into Perplexity's enterprise data connectivity stack. Carbon's connectors supported Google Drive, Notion, Slack, Confluence, and other popular data sources for RAG pipelines.

Product Summary

Pathway is a high-performance Python ETL framework for stream processing, real-time analytics, LLM pipelines, and RAG. Rust engine processes millions of data points per second; uniquely mixes batch and streaming logic in the same workflow. Trusted by NATO and Intel; recently crossed 50K GitHub stars.

Starting Price

usage-based

Starting Price

$0Per forever

Free Trial

Yes

Free Version

Yes

Website

carbon.ai

Website

pathway.com

Key features

Core capabilities each platform advertises.

Carbon (Perplexity)

Data connectors
Google Drive
Notion
Slack integration

Pathway

Rust-powered streaming engine — millions of data points/sec
Unified batch + streaming logic in the same workflow
Connectors for PostgreSQL, Kafka, S3, and live APIs
Live LLM/RAG pipelines with incremental vector DB updates
Stateful transformations (joins, windowing, sorting) in Rust

Strengths and tradeoffs

What each tool does well, and the limitations to keep in mind.

Carbon (Perplexity)

Pros

Pre-built connectors for easy integration with multiple data sources
AI-optimized data processing with automatic chunking, embedding, and cleaning
Enterprise-grade security with SOC 2 Type II compliance and end-to-end encryption
Streamlined RAG development with production-ready infrastructure
Now backed by Perplexity AI with enhanced enterprise capabilities

Cons

Company was acquired and original standalone service is winding down
Pricing information not transparently available
Limited documentation on migration paths after acquisition
Uncertain future roadmap as integration with Perplexity progresses

Pathway

Pros

Solves real-time data challenge most RAG frameworks ignore
Rust engine genuinely fast — millions of points/sec
Unified batch + streaming is rare and powerful
Production references at NATO and Intel
Pythonic API on top of Rust performance

Cons

What people are saying

Carbon (Perplexity)

Data not available

Pathway

YUV.AI reviewYUV.AI

Pathway treats your data as a continuous stream of changes rather than static snapshots, using a Rust engine known for being extremely fast and memory-efficient.

Read full review

Carbon (Perplexity) or Pathway — which should you choose?

Choose Carbon (Perplexity) if you wantChoose if you want

Data not available

Choose Pathway if you wantChoose if you want

Real-time RAG pipelines kept in sync with live data sources
Streaming feature pipelines for AI/ML serving
Continuous-learning AI systems that ingest streaming events
Real-time analytics combining batch + streaming transforms
Mission-critical AI workloads at NATO/Intel-scale

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Carbon (Perplexity) vs Pathway (2026)

Overview

Key features

Strengths and tradeoffs

What people are saying

Carbon (Perplexity) or Pathway — which should you choose?

Compare Carbon (Perplexity) and Pathway on your own traffic

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