Perplexity AI has released the source code for SPACE, its internal platform designed to isolate AI agents during code execution. The software is now available on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing for commercial use and modification.
Built on AWS Firecracker microVMs, the platform provides hardware-level isolation. Perplexity reports that the median sandbox startup time has been reduced to approximately 60 milliseconds, down from the previous 185 milliseconds.
The system includes stateful features such as pause and resume capabilities, along with rolling snapshots stored for up to one week. It also supports bring-your-own-key encryption, ensuring credentials are never stored within the sandbox.
SPACE was first deployed in production in June 2026 to support Perplexity Computer. Since its launch, the platform has processed millions of sandbox creations and tens of millions of reconnect events.
In September 2026, the company conducted a red-team exercise involving 108 exploit attempts, none of which resulted in a sandbox escape. Perplexity plans to integrate SPACE into a broader Agentic Runtime Platform and collaborate with partners like Nvidia.
