There is a person who has come out of the streets of Chennai and creating buzz in Silicon Valley – this is Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI! At the age of 31, he has challenged the world’s biggest tech giants by creating an AI-powered search engine.
Today we will talk about Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas‘s inspiring journey, his new venture Perplexity AI, and his vision which is giving a new form to information.
Who is Aravind Srinivas?
Aravind Srinivas was born on 7 June 1994 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He had a passion for technology and science since childhood. He did dual degree (B.Tech and M.Tech) in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras, where he first learned about AI and machine learning. This was the time when AI was not that popular yet, but Aravind decided to make his career in this field.
After IIT, Aravind moved to University of California, Berkeley, where he did his PhD in Computer Science. His thesis, “Representation Learning for Perception and Control,” was on deep learning and reinforcement learning, and his mentor was the renowned AI researcher Pieter Abbeel.
During this time, he worked as a research intern at top companies like OpenAI, Google Brain, and DeepMind, where he understood and developed advanced concepts of AI.
Perplexity AI: A New Search Revolution
In 2022, Aravind started Perplexity AI with his friends Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. It is an AI-powered “answer engine” that gives direct, accurate answers, different from traditional search engines, and also provides citations. Perplexity’s mission is to satisfy the world’s curiosity, and it has directly challenged companies like Google.
The valuation of Perplexity AI has reached $14 billion by June 2025, and it has investors like Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Nat Friedman. The platform now processes 780 million queries per month, which is equivalent to 30 million queries daily. Aravind’s vision is to make search a conversational experience, where users don’t have to wander in a jungle of links.
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Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas’s Contribution to AI
Aravind’s work is not limited to Perplexity only. He has published several research papers in the field of AI, which are on deep learning, reinforcement learning, and generative models. 9 of his research papers have been included in top-tier conferences like ICLR, AAAI, and NeurIPS. These papers are helping shape the future of AI.
Apart from this, Aravind is also an angel investor and has invested in AI startups like ElevenLabs (text-to-speech) and Suno (text-to-music). His passion shows that he sees AI not just as a technology but as a global revolution.
Aravind’s Vision for India
Aravind’s heart is still with India. In January 2025, he made a bold announcement: he will invest $1 million and 5 hours of his time every week in an Indian team that open-sources AI models and competes in global benchmarks. He says that India should achieve the same feat in AI as ISRO. This commitment has been called the “most patriotic thing” by netizens, and it has brought a new enthusiasm in the Indian AI community.
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Challenges and Controversies
Perplexity has faced some challenges in its AI journey. In 2024, media houses like The New York Times and Forbes accused Perplexity of copyright infringement, saying that their content was used without permission. Aravind responded by saying that Perplexity “aggregates”, does not plagiarize, and he launched the Publishers Program in which revenue sharing has been promised.
Aravind’s Inspiring Journey
Aravind’s journey is inspiring because he made setbacks his strength. Despite not getting Computer Science in IIT Madras, he learned AI in Electrical Engineering and acquired skills like Python which later came in handy to him. His journey is an example for every youngster who wants to pursue their dreams.
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Final Thoughts
Friends, Aravind Srinivas is a name who is setting new standards in the AI and tech world. With Perplexity AI, he has changed the future of search, and his vision for India is an inspiration for all of us.
What do you think – can Perplexity AI overtake Google? Or will Arvind’s AI dream for India come true? Let us know in the comments!
