From Chennai to Silicon Valley: The Rise of Aravind Srinivas and Perplexity AI
The Egg-Eating Epiphany
For Aravind Srinivas, a simple YouTube video featuring Google CEO Sundar Pichai marked a turning point in his life. Growing up in a vegetarian household in India, eggs were off-limits for Srinivas. However, as a young adult seeking to increase his protein intake, he stumbled upon an interview where Pichai casually mentioned his morning routine, which included enjoying an omelet. With his mother’s blessing after sharing the video, Srinivas embarked on a new culinary journey.
Following in Pichai’s Footsteps
Srinivas and Pichai share more than just a hometown of Chennai, India. As Srinivas pursued his PhD in computer science at UC Berkeley, Pichai ascended to the role of CEO at Google. Srinivas’ admiration for the tech giant grew as he interned at Google-owned DeepMind in London, even if it meant occasionally sleeping in the office to escape his subpar living arrangements.
During his time at DeepMind, Srinivas discovered Steven Levy’s book, In the Plex, which chronicled the evolution of Google. The book deepened his appreciation for the company and its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who became his entrepreneurial heroes.
The Birth of Perplexity AI
In 2022, Srinivas joined forces with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski to develop a novel approach to search using AI. Initially focusing on algorithms that could translate natural language into SQL, they soon pivoted to a product that combined traditional search indexing with the power of large language models. Thus, Perplexity AI was born.
Perplexity AI distinguishes itself as an “answer” engine, using AI text generation to summarize results and create conversational “threads” on specific topics. By refining searches through follow-up questions and providing text-based or visual answers, Perplexity AI aims to provide users with the information they need without requiring them to navigate away from the platform.
From Admiration to Rivalry
As Srinivas now leads his own search company, his relationship with Pichai has evolved. What began as admiration has transformed into a friendly rivalry, with Srinivas acknowledging the awkwardness of the situation. Nevertheless, he continues to draw inspiration from Pichai’s leadership and Google’s innovations as he charts his own path in the world of AI-powered search.
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