Latest news with #Aravind
The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Blood donation camp held at IIITDM as part of I-Day fete
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Management (IIITDM-Kurnool) celebrated the 79th Independence Day with grandeur and enthusiasm. IIITDM Registrar Rajkumar hoisted the National Flag, marking the commencement of the celebrations. A march past was taken out by students and the security team. Students and faculty members gave patriotic speeches, paying tribute to the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters. Awards were presented to the best students in recognition of their excellence, and winners of the Har Ghar Tiranga drawing competition were felicitated. As part of the Independence Day celebrations, a blood donation camp was organised on the campus in collaboration with the Government Blood Bank. A total of 52 students donated blood on the occasion. Two of them, Aravind, a fourth year mechanical engineering student, and Sujan from the CSE department, were donating blood for the seventh time. The camp was coordinated by the NSS team of IIITDM-Kurnool.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Allu Aravind calls for unity among stakeholders amid wage row
Hyderabad: At the recent SIIMA Awards press meet, senior producer Allu Aravind made striking remarks that have sparked discussions within the Telugu film industry. Referring to the recent recognition of Telugu cinema with seven National Awards, Aravind pointed out that it was SIIMA that first honored the achievers, even before the local industry acknowledged them. 'In our industry, everyone focuses on their own circle. That's why we are unable to collectively celebrate achievements or do good for the industry as a whole,' Aravind said, emphasizing the lack of unity among stakeholders. His comments come at a time when the Telugu film industry is facing a major standoff between producers and workers' unions over wage hikes. With shootings stalled and both sides sticking to their demands, his statement on disunity and self-interest appears particularly relevant. Many see his words as a reflection of the current crisis, where collaborative problem-solving has taken a back seat to individual agendas. Industry observers believe Aravind's call for unity goes beyond award recognition, subtly urging stakeholders to put aside differences and work together — both to honor talent and to resolve pressing issues like the ongoing wage dispute that has disrupted the flow of productions.
Hindustan Times
27-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Indian-origin man left Google, became ChatGPT's nightmare; It all started with a mother's dream
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. Mobile Finder: iPhone 17 Air expected to debut later this year 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.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas: The boy who turned his mother's IIT dream into a billion‑dollar AI company
In the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, few stories stand out quite like that of Aravind Srinivas . In just under three years, he helped build Perplexity AI from an idea into one of the most talked-about startups in the tech ecosystem. As of July 2025, the company's valuation had soared to $18 billion, driven by a series of breakthrough innovations and strategic partnerships, including a major deal with Bharti Airtel. That collaboration is set to give over 360 million Indian users free access to Perplexity Pro, drastically increasing the platform's reach and cementing its global presence. Behind this remarkable ascent is the vision of a young man who channeled his mother's dream into an empire and redefined how the world interacts with information. Aravind Srinivas' transformative vision grounded in a mother's dream Aravind Srinivas was born on June 7, 1994, in Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu. His earliest influence wasn't a coding bootcamp or a Silicon Valley pitch deck, but his own mother. Each time they passed by the gates of IIT Madras , she would point and tell him, 'You will study there one day.' That quiet repetition evolved into a shared dream—hers of opportunity, and his of purpose. Academically gifted from a young age, Aravind's achievements spoke volumes. He secured the National Talent Search Scholarship and earned a merit certificate in the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad. These recognitions were more than just medals; they were stepping stones to IIT Madras, where he graduated in 2017 with dual degrees in Electrical Engineering. Ironically, despite his growing interest in computer science and machine learning, Aravind couldn't switch to a CS major due to a marginally lower GPA. But that didn't stop him. He taught himself Python, followed online AI courses, competed on Kaggle, and gained mentorship under Professor Balaraman Ravindran, a pivotal figure in his intellectual development. A brief internship under AI legend Yoshua Bengio further ignited his academic trajectory, eventually leading him to a PhD at UC Berkeley, specializing in machine learning and artificial intelligence. From academic frustration to AI revolution: the birth of Perplexity While pursuing his PhD, Aravind began to question the limitations of traditional search engines. Why were users still forced to dig through pages of links when machines were already capable of nuanced understanding and delivering direct answers? That dissatisfaction gave birth to a radical idea: a conversational answer engine powered by large language models (LLMs) that could provide real-time, cited, and context-aware responses. In August 2022, alongside Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, Aravind co-founded Perplexity AI in San Francisco. The team combined their technical expertise with a shared vision for transparent, user-friendly, AI-driven search. Their approach was novel. They prioritized trust, transparency, and clarity, avoiding the opaque algorithms of legacy platforms. By April 2024, Perplexity had raised $165 million, achieving unicorn status with a valuation of $1 billion. Just a year later, the firm reached $14 billion, and by July 2025, another $100 million funding round pushed its value to $18 billion, making it one of the fastest-growing AI companies in history. Scaling AI for the masses while rewriting the rules of search What truly set Perplexity apart was its ability to grow both in technology and scale without compromising its core vision. In May 2025, Aravind's team signed a groundbreaking partnership with Bharti Airtel, bringing Perplexity Pro to 360 million Indian users via the Airtel Thanks app. Perplexity Pro now offers access to top-tier AI models like GPT‑4.1, Claude, image generation, and their newly launched AI browser, Comet, which handles complex web tasks via voice or text. Monthly search queries surged past 780 million, with more than 30 million active users, and an astonishing 20 percent month-on-month growth rate. Revenue, which stood at $35 million in 2024, was projected to cross an annualized $150 million by mid-2025. New features rolled out rapidly: enterprise offerings, publisher revenue-sharing models, and real-time knowledge tools that go beyond what traditional search ever aimed for. The launch of Comet, a voice-first AI browser capable of summarizing posts, shopping, or composing emails, has redefined user expectations of online assistance. Staying independent in the age of AI giants In an industry dominated by trillion-dollar tech giants, staying independent is no easy feat. Aravind Srinivas has already turned down acquisition interest from major players like Apple and Meta, signaling that Perplexity intends to build its own destiny. The company is laying the groundwork for a future public offering, likely after 2028, while expanding its presence across mobile, enterprise, and global education ecosystems. Yet through all the milestones, what remains unchanged is Aravind's clarity of vision. From his mother's voice in a Chennai bus to leading one of the world's most dynamic AI companies, his journey is a rare blend of family legacy, technical brilliance, and unrelenting drive. As Perplexity continues to reshape how the world accesses and understands knowledge, Aravind Srinivas stands as a symbol of the power of self-belief and how a single dream, once whispered by a mother, can echo across the digital age. 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New Indian Express
21-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Kerala's initiatives to tackle antimicrobial resistance published in global journal
KOCHI: In a first, an international journal has published an article on the state's initiatives to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a dominant global health concern identified by the UN General Assembly and the World Health Organisation. The article — 'When policymakers have your back: The Kerala experience with statewide antimicrobial resistance mitigation efforts' — was featured in the Journal of the American Society for Healthcare Epidemiology, published by Cambridge University Press. Authored by Dr Aravind Reghukumar, serving with the department of infectious diseases at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, and nine other doctors, the article explains how the Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Action Plan, Kerala Antibiotic Smart Hospital Initiative and the Kerala Antibiotic Literate Campaign helped tackle the AMR crisis. 'The article was published in an international journal as the subject is relevant. Even the UN General Assembly has discussed the issue twice in the past 20 years. In India, Kerala is the only state that has been implementing an AMR strategic action plan effectively,' Dr Aravind told TNIE. Political will and commitment are key to addressing the issue, he pointed out. Antimicrobial resistance is caused when antibiotics are overused, allowing bacteria to thrive, and develop the ability to resist the medication.
