Indian-origin man left Google, became ChatGPT's nightmare; It all started with a mother's dream

Hindustan Times

27-07-2025

In the fast-paced world of artificial intelligence, one name has emerged as a serious challenger to ChatGPT, Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-origin co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI. Once a researcher at Google, Srinivas walked away from Big Tech to build something of his own. In just under three years, Perplexity AI has gone from an experimental idea to a multibillion-dollar startup, valued at $18 billion as of July 2025. Aravind Srinivas with Indian PM Narendra Modi.(Aravind Srinivas/Instagram)
At the heart of this extraordinary journey is a deeply personal story, one that began with his mother's dream in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
From Chennai to California
Born in 1994 in Chennai, Srinivas was shaped early by his mother's ambitions. Every time they passed IIT Madras, she'd tell him, 'You will study here one day.' He did exactly that. Aravind graduated from IIT Madras in 2017 with dual degrees in Electrical Engineering. He later pursued a PhD in Artificial Intelligence at UC Berkeley, but his road to AI began earlier, teaching himself Python, competing on Kaggle, and securing an internship under deep learning pioneer Yoshua Bengio.
Despite being unable to switch to a Computer Science major at IIT due to a slight GPA shortfall, Aravind found alternative routes to feed his interest in machine learning. His persistence would eventually reshape how millions search the internet.
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The birth of Perplexity AI
In 2022, Aravind teamed up with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski to launch Perplexity AI in San Francisco. Their idea: create a transparent, conversational search engine that directly answers questions with citations, unlike traditional search engines or opaque LLM chatbots.
Their timing was impeccable. Just as generative AI exploded globally, Perplexity carved a niche by combining real-time search with AI-generated responses. By mid-2024, the company was valued at $1 billion. A year later, it had reached $14 billion. In July 2025, a fresh $100 million funding round brought it to $18 billion in valuation.
The Airtel partnership: Taking on ChatGPT in India
Perplexity's biggest growth leap came in May 2025, when it announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel. The deal gave 360 million Indian users free access to Perplexity Pro, expanding its global footprint dramatically. With over 30 million active users and 780 million monthly queries, Perplexity is now seen as a credible alternative to OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Its AI browser Comet, built for voice-first web interaction, is reshaping how people browse, search, and shop online. Enterprise products, revenue-sharing models for publishers, and a focus on real-time information have set it apart.
Staying independent, and grounded
Despite overtures from Apple, Meta, and other tech giants, Aravind Srinivas has refused to sell. He's betting on long-term independence, eyeing an IPO post-2028. What makes his story stand out isn't just the scale, but the clarity.
From a Chennai bus ride to Silicon Valley boardrooms, his journey is a reminder that ambition rooted in belief, like a mother's dream, can still reshape industries.