Merge pull request #59 from afifi-yusuf/starplex

Author: kesku

docs/showcase/starplex.mdx

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+---
+title: StarPlex | AI-Powered Startup Intelligence Platform
+description: An AI-powered startup intelligence platform that helps entrepreneurs validate their business ideas and find the right resources to succeed
+sidebar_position: 26
+keywords: [StarPlex, Sonar Pro, business ideas, Perplexity, Sonar Pro, 3D globe, market validation, competitor research]
+---
+
+**StarPlex** is an AI-powered startup intelligence platform that helps entrepreneurs validate their business ideas and connect with the resources they need to succeed. Powered primarily by **Perplexity Sonar Pro**, it features an interactive **3D globe interface** as its main UI. Simply enter your startup idea, and watch as the AI engine analyzes and visualizes insights directly on the globe—mapping out competitors, markets, demographics, VCs, and potential co-founders across the world in real-time.
+
+<iframe
+  className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl"
+  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iusCyDNzY60"
+  title="StarPlex Demo"
+  frameBorder="0"
+  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
+  allowFullScreen
+></iframe>
+
+## Features
+
+* **Market Validation Analysis** with AI-proof scoring, market cap estimation, and growth trend analysis
+* **Interactive 3D Globe Interface** for visualizing global startup intelligence data
+* **Competitor Research** with threat scoring and competitive landscape mapping
+* **VC & Investor Matching** based on investment thesis and portfolio alignment
+* **Co-founder Discovery** with compatibility scoring and expertise matching
+* **Demographic Research** with heatmap visualization of target audience locations
+* **AI Pitch Deck Generation** creating investor-ready presentations
+* **Context-Aware Chatbot** with RAG integration across all research data
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+* Node.js 18+ and npm
+* Python 3.8+ and pip
+* Perplexity API key (Sonar Pro)
+* Mapbox token and SERP API key
+
+## Installation
+
+```bash
+# Clone the repository
+git clone https://github.com/JerryWu0430/StarPlex.git
+cd StarPlex
+
+# Backend setup
+cd backend
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+# Frontend setup
+cd ../frontend
+npm install
+```
+
+## Configuration
+
+Create `.env` file in the backend directory:
+```ini
+PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_perplexity_api_key
+MAPBOX_TOKEN=your_mapbox_token
+SERPAPI_KEY=your_serpapi_key
+```
+
+## Usage
+
+1. **Start Backend**:
+   ```bash
+   cd backend
+   python main.py
+   ```
+
+2. **Start Frontend**:
+   ```bash
+   cd frontend
+   npm run dev
+   ```
+
+3. **Access Application**: Open http://localhost:3000 and enter your startup idea
+
+4. **Explore Intelligence**: Use the 3D globe to visualize competitors, VCs, demographics, and co-founders
+
+5. **Generate Assets**: Create pitch decks and chat with the AI assistant about your analysis
+
+## How StarPlex Uses Perplexity Sonar API
+
+StarPlex leverages Perplexity's Sonar API through a **multi-module intelligence architecture**:
+
+**Market Analysis Engine**
+Uses Sonar Pro for comprehensive market validation, combining Google Trends data with AI analysis to generate market cap estimates, AI-disruption scores, and growth projections with structured JSON outputs.
+
+**Competitor Intelligence**
+Employs multiple concurrent Sonar queries to identify competing companies, funding status, and threat levels. Each competitor receives a 1-10 threat score with detailed competitive positioning analysis.
+
+**VC & Co-founder Matching**
+Leverages Sonar's real-time web knowledge to find relevant investors and potential co-founders, scoring matches based on investment thesis alignment, expertise fit, and geographic proximity.
+
+**Context-Aware Business Assistant**
+Implements RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) by feeding all research data into Sonar conversations, creating a knowledgeable startup advisor that can answer questions about market positioning, competitive threats, and strategic decisions.
+
+**Geographic Intelligence**
+Combines Sonar's demographic insights with Mapbox geocoding to create interactive heatmaps showing where target audiences are concentrated globally.
+
+## Code Explanation
+
+* **Backend**: Python FastAPI with AsyncIO for concurrent Perplexity API calls across multiple analysis modules
+* **Frontend**: Next.js with React 19, featuring Cobe for 3D globe visualization and Mapbox GL for interactive mapping
+* **AI Integration**: Multi-model Perplexity strategy using Sonar Pro for complex analysis and Sonar for faster queries
+* **Data Pipeline**: Intelligent caching, structured JSON responses, and real-time streaming for immediate user feedback
+* **Visualization**: Dynamic data binding between Perplexity insights and interactive globe/map interfaces
+
+## Links
+
+- [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/JerryWu0430/StarPlex)
+- [Live Demo](https://starplex.app)
+- [Devpost Submission](https://devpost.com/software/starplex)