When the term Perplexity CEO comes up, it’s not just a title—it’s a narrative of ambition, technical prowess, and audacious disruption. Aravind Srinivas, a 31-year-old IIT Madras and UC Berkeley graduate, co-founded Perplexity AI in 2022 and has since positioned it as a formidable rival to giants like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. His journey—from academic rigor to hyper-growth—captures the spirit of AI’s next frontier.
🎯 Who Is the Perplexity CEO?
Born on June 7, 1994, in Chennai, Aravind Srinivas is double-graduated (B.Tech & M.Tech) in electrical engineering from IIT Madras and went on to pursue a PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley. Deeply involved in AI research, he was working at OpenAI, Google Brain, and DeepMind before co-founding Perplexity AI with co-founders Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski.
His life showcases a consistent upward trajectory—from academic success to engineering breakthroughs and finally, entrepreneurial leadership.
Perplexity AI: Reimagining Search
Under Aravind’s direction, Perplexity has transformed from an AI startup into an answer engine that unites LLMs with citation-backed search. Leveraging RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), Perplexity provides authoritative, verifiable answers with inline citations
Key milestones:
- August 2022 founded
- Milestone funding rounds took valuation from $500M to $18 billion in months
- Processing 780 million questions in May 2025, with ~30 million daily visitors
Backed by Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, SoftBank, and Eric Schmidt, Perplexity transitioned from unicorn to $14 billion / $18 billion valuation startup
Comet: The AI Browser Revolution
In mid-2025, Srinivas introduced Comet, an AI-native browser as a productivity layer for Gmail, Calendar, and LinkedIn. As CEO, he outlined it as an AI assistant that would be able to serve operations at full scale—like substituting executive assistants and recruiters
He views browsers as the most powerful platform for AI agents, where “sidecar” capabilities can natively automate workflows. Comet is now in beta, with usage-based monetization in the pipeline and public listing in the works by 2028
CEO Insight: Wisdom That Sticks
Aravind isn’t just building products—he’s shaping mindsets. In interviews and through digital channels, he invites young professionals to:
- slash doom scrolling; substitute passive social media with learning AI tools
- adopt lifelong learning, referring to flexibility as an imperative in a world that’s constantly changing
- Use fear as fuel—competing with giants shouldn’t paralyze but motivate
Leadership Style: Tech-Savvy and Transparent
Aravind’s leadership blends Silicon Valley openness and Indian clarity:
- Community engagement: Open AMAs, bug response, and feature explanations (e.g. “Auto mode”)
- Vision clarity: Engaging interview with Lex Fridman, discussing deep reasoning and future of internet search
- Pressure as catalyst: Grabs competition stress, especially stolen ideas, as par for the startup course
Confusion vs. Competitors
| Feature | Perplexity (CEO-led) | Google Gemini / OpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Citation-backed AI | Yes (Lex Fridman) | Partial, evolving |
| AI-native Browser | Comet in beta (The Economic Times, The Verge) | No comparable offering |
| Funding & Valuation | $14–18B (2025) (Indiatimes, Financial Times) | OpenAI valued near $80B; Google undisclosed |
| Monetization Model | Subscription, ads, enterprise API (Wikipedia, Financial Times) | API fees, enterprise, consumer integrations |
Under Aravind’s charge, Perplexity has reimagined search and established Comet as an early mover in AI-first browsing.
Controversies and Challenges
Copyright wars: NYTs, Forbes, and Dow Jones lawsuits over unauthorized use of content. Aravind acknowledged “rough edges” and will improve compliance
Competitive pressure: Head-to-head competition with titans Google and OpenAI, yet on track to IPO in 2028 rather than sell
Beyond CEO: Investor & Visionary
Aravind is also a practitioner of angel investing—investing in startups such as Eleven Labs, Pika Labs, and Cartesia LinkedIn. His startup, Verified Capital, just raised $175M to invest in disruptive tech at all stages on
He also speaks about AI democratizing the bottom 3 billion worldwide, supporting broad access and policy coordination on
Perplexity CEO Journey Takeaways
- Build quickly, iterate in public—transparency develops trust and accelerates progress.
- Put AI at work’s forefront—Comet provides a precedent for integrating AI beyond chatbots.
- Utilize fear as fuel—pressure and competition can fuel growth when done in the right mindset.
- Stay ethical in the spotlight—Aravind has been open to fixing sourcing issues.
- Be the voice for global impact—besides profits, AI must enable underserved communities.
Final Thoughts
The CEO of Perplexity is not just a story about leadership—about innovation on a hyper-competitive, fast-evolving AI frontier. Aravind Srinivas has already transformed our search, documentation, and web workflows, with ambitions to disrupt the browser itself—maybe the most critical interface of the web.
As Perplexity goes for IPO and global expansion, Aravind’s message is straightforward: change, create, and lead—and use AI not just to automate, but to enrich the human experience.
