Most of the graduates from various IIT institutions tend to secure higher-paying jobs in large corporate companies. Nonetheless, some individuals opt for a different path by venturing into entrepreneurship. Aravind Srinivas is one such alumnus who co-founded his own company. Currently serving as the CEO of Perplexity AI, Srinivas holds dual degrees in B.Tech and M.Tech in electrical engineering from IIT-Madras.
Aravind Srinivas, along with Denis Yarats, Andy Konwinski, and Johnny Ho, established Perplexity AI in 2022. Before this entrepreneurial venture, Srinivas gained valuable experience through internships at DeepMind, Google, and OpenAI. He later worked as a research scientist at OpenAI and earned a PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Let’s make them dance. https://t.co/MTED9HpbZp pic.twitter.com/yJKYd6gZ4m
— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) January 11, 2024
In a recent development, Perplexity AI secured substantial funding of USD 73.6 million, with contributions from notable entities such as US chip maker Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This funding round, led by Institutional Venture Partners, also received support from NEA and Databricks Ventures, valuing the AI startup at USD 520 million.
Perplexity AI distinguishes itself with a user-friendly chatbot interface, allowing individuals to pose questions in everyday language. Additionally, the company offers an AI assistant named Copilot.
Aravind Srinivas maintains an active presence on social media, boasting 45.6K followers on X (formerly Twitter). Recently, he shared a photograph featuring Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Responding to a user’s comment asserting that Perplexity, not Microsoft, would make Google dance, Srinivas playfully remarked, “Let’s make them dance.”