Latest news with #JohnnyHo
News18
3 days ago
- Business
- News18
Who Is Aravind Srinivas? Meet Perplexity CEO Behind $34.5 Billion Bid For Google Chrome
He co-founded Perplexity AI in 2022 alongside Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. An Indian-origin tech entrepreneur is making waves across the tech world after making an audacious offer to acquire Google Chrome. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the AI startup Perplexity, recently sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on August 12, proposing an all-cash acquisition of the popular web browser, as reported by Reuters. In a bold and unexpected move, Srinivas' company has offered a staggering $34.5 billion to purchase Google Chrome, despite Perplexity AI reportedly being valued at around $18 billion. The unsolicited bid, which significantly overshoots the company's own valuation, has sparked surprise and curiosity across the global tech landscape. Srinivas, 31, was born and raised in Chennai, India. A graduate of IIT Madras, he later pursued higher education at the University of California, Berkeley. He co-founded Perplexity AI in 2022 alongside Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. The company's core product is an AI-powered search engine designed to deliver direct, conversational answers using real-time information, positioning itself as a potential challenger to traditional search engines like Google. Before launching Perplexity, Srinivas accumulated valuable experience in the AI and tech ecosystem, having previously worked at Google, and collaborated with influential AI researcher Yoshua Bengio. These formative roles helped shape his expertise in search and information retrieval technologies, which are now at the heart of his company's mission. The timing of the bid is noteworthy. Google is currently facing legal challenges following a major antitrust ruling in the United States. A US District Judge recently ruled that Google had maintained its search monopoly through illegal practices, including paying billions to remain the default search option on devices and browsers. Google has announced plans to appeal, but the litigation process could take years. So far, Google has not issued a public response to Srinivas' acquisition offer. While Perplexity has only raised around $1 billion to date, it claims that multiple investment firms have offered to fully fund the proposed deal. However, the company has not disclosed the names of these potential financiers. Whether Google will entertain the proposal remains unclear, but the bid has already placed Aravind Srinivas and Perplexity AI firmly in the global spotlight. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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Business Standard
08-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Wall Street and AI startups are fighting over entry-level quants
At a rooftop bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side, roughly 150 quant researchers met with employees at the artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic who implored them to consider a life away from Wall Street. Over plates of potstickers and popcorn chicken, they rubbed shoulders at the June mixer with former hedge fund quants-turned-Silicon Valley evangelists who encouraged them to apply for jobs at Anthropic, according to the company. This month, the San Francisco-based firm is going global with another quant 'social hour' in London. The recruiting campaign mirrors similar efforts by rivals OpenAI and Perplexity AI. And a number of leading figures in the AI industry already come with quant backgrounds, including OpenAI Chief Research Officer Mark Chen and Perplexity co-founder Johnny Ho. But quants lured by dreams of building AI models and tools instead of profit-seeking algorithms for traders — often for lofty pay and benefits comparable to the world of finance — also face the risk of disappointment. 'The pitch is 'come and build the machine god,'' said Agustin Lebron, a former Jane Street trader who now works at a systematic trading startup. 'But I suspect that, for a lot of those people, it'll end up being 'come and figure out how to make people buy things from ads.'' Still, the AI industry's competition with finance is noticeably heating up. For Wall Street, it's an unwelcome wrinkle in an already-brutal war for quant talent. Unlike financial firms, AI companies aren't covered by the non-competition agreements that keep many of these researchers from easily switching jobs. 'I'd estimate we've seen a 40–50% increase over the past 12–18 months in AI-native and software companies specifically asking for talent with quantitative finance backgrounds,' tech recruiter Mike Doonan said. Entry-level quants are eligible for base salaries of as much as $300,000, based on external job listings, but that doesn't include what can be considerable bonus targets. AI firms today can offer comparable base salaries, with compensation packages bolstered with equity rather than bonuses. Next Big Thing According to an analysis of LinkedIn announcements, social media posts and company news sites conducted by employment tracking company Live Data Technologies, firms including Jane Street and Citadel Securities have lost quants to AI firms over the past year. Aron Thomas and Charles Guo both left Jane Street earlier this year to join Anthropic. In an interview, they praised their former firm as a great place to work but said they were drawn to the excitement of being part of the next big thing. 'It became very clear quite quickly that AI is going to change a lot of things and drive many changes in the world, and it seemed pretty important to be involved,' said Guo. Jane Street declined to comment for this story. Citadel also declined to comment on personnel matters, but pointed to growing interest in the firm's own internship program, which saw 108,000 applicants for this summer, up 20% from last year. While OpenAI also declined to comment, its chief executive officer Sam Altman touted quant-focused recruitment events in an April post on X. Noam Brown, an ex-quant and top researcher at the company, weighed in, noting that recruits don't need to take a pay cut anymore. Perplexity's Ho said the company pays $200,000 base salaries but makes up the difference somewhat with equity. He stressed that the firm's pitch to quants isn't mainly financial, though. Instead, it was the opportunity to take on 'new and more exciting challenges,' said Ho, who previously worked at Tower Research Capital. Quant Skills Quants are uniquely adept at minimizing latency in algorithms, which makes them desirable to AI developers competing to ensure users get responses as quickly as possible from the large language models that power generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. And much like AI research, quantitative trading involves sifting through vast amounts of unstructured data. What's more, firms like Anthropic and Perplexity are pushing more into financial services offerings. For its part, Anthropic said in a statement that it's after 'the rigorous analytical thinking and empirical research methods' that quants possess. Such skills have 'substantial overlap with the technical challenges of developing safer and more capable AI systems,' the company said, adding that it's going to keep hiring people with specialized backgrounds as it scales. Quant firms have occasionally sued employees departing for rivals. But litigation is unlikely for quants moving to AI labs, which don't directly compete with financial firms. Moreover, California — where most big AI companies are based — largely prohibits non-competition agreements. Ho said Wall Street has hurt itself with non-competes. 'They are becoming more and more secretive,' he said. There are signs that Wall Street is attempting to hit back against the poaching attempts of AI companies. For example, Iain Dunning, who oversees AI at Hudson River Trading, posted on X in May: 'Are you a researcher at OAI/Anthropic/etc and tired of overhiring, the orgchart chaos, the lowered talent bar, want to move to NYC, or just want to do something different?'
Mint
08-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Wall Street and AI Startups Are Fighting Over Entry-Level Quants
(Bloomberg) -- At a rooftop bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side, roughly 150 quant researchers met with employees at the artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic who implored them to consider a life away from Wall Street. Over plates of potstickers and popcorn chicken, they rubbed shoulders at the June mixer with former hedge fund quants-turned-Silicon Valley evangelists who encouraged them to apply for jobs at Anthropic, according to the company. This month, the San Francisco-based firm is going global with another quant 'social hour' in London. The recruiting campaign mirrors similar efforts by rivals OpenAI and Perplexity AI. And a number of leading figures in the AI industry already come with quant backgrounds, including OpenAI Chief Research Officer Mark Chen and Perplexity co-founder Johnny Ho. But quants lured by dreams of building AI models and tools instead of profit-seeking algorithms for traders — often for lofty pay and benefits comparable to the world of finance — also face the risk of disappointment. 'The pitch is 'come and build the machine god,'' said Agustin Lebron, a former Jane Street trader who now works at a systematic trading startup. 'But I suspect that, for a lot of those people, it'll end up being 'come and figure out how to make people buy things from ads.'' Still, the AI industry's competition with finance is noticeably heating up. For Wall Street, it's an unwelcome wrinkle in an already-brutal war for quant talent. Unlike financial firms, AI companies aren't covered by the non-competition agreements that keep many of these researchers from easily switching jobs. 'I'd estimate we've seen a 40–50% increase over the past 12–18 months in AI-native and software companies specifically asking for talent with quantitative finance backgrounds,' tech recruiter Mike Doonan said. Entry-level quants are eligible for base salaries of as much as $300,000, based on external job listings, but that doesn't include what can be considerable bonus targets. AI firms today can offer comparable base salaries, with compensation packages bolstered with equity rather than bonuses. According to an analysis of LinkedIn announcements, social media posts and company news sites conducted by employment tracking company Live Data Technologies, firms including Jane Street and Citadel Securities have lost quants to AI firms over the past year. Aron Thomas and Charles Guo both left Jane Street earlier this year to join Anthropic. In an interview, they praised their former firm as a great place to work but said they were drawn to the excitement of being part of the next big thing. 'It became very clear quite quickly that AI is going to change a lot of things and drive many changes in the world, and it seemed pretty important to be involved,' said Guo. Jane Street declined to comment for this story. Citadel also declined to comment on personnel matters, but pointed to growing interest in the firm's own internship program, which saw 108,000 applicants for this summer, up 20% from last year. While OpenAI also declined to comment, its chief executive officer Sam Altman touted quant-focused recruitment events in an April post on X. Noam Brown, an ex-quant and top researcher at the company, weighed in, noting that recruits don't need to take a pay cut anymore. Perplexity's Ho said the company pays $200,000 base salaries but makes up the difference somewhat with equity. He stressed that the firm's pitch to quants isn't mainly financial, though. Instead, it was the opportunity to take on 'new and more exciting challenges,' said Ho, who previously worked at Tower Research Capital. Quants are uniquely adept at minimizing latency in algorithms, which makes them desirable to AI developers competing to ensure users get responses as quickly as possible from the large language models that power generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. And much like AI research, quantitative trading involves sifting through vast amounts of unstructured data. What's more, firms like Anthropic and Perplexity are pushing more into financial services offerings. For its part, Anthropic said in a statement that it's after 'the rigorous analytical thinking and empirical research methods' that quants possess. Such skills have 'substantial overlap with the technical challenges of developing safer and more capable AI systems,' the company said, adding that it's going to keep hiring people with specialized backgrounds as it scales. Quant firms have occasionally sued employees departing for rivals. But litigation is unlikely for quants moving to AI labs, which don't directly compete with financial firms. Moreover, California — where most big AI companies are based — largely prohibits non-competition agreements. Ho said Wall Street has hurt itself with non-competes. 'They are becoming more and more secretive,' he said. There are signs that Wall Street is attempting to hit back against the poaching attempts of AI companies. For example, Iain Dunning, who oversees AI at Hudson River Trading, posted on X in May: 'Are you a researcher at OAI/Anthropic/etc and tired of overhiring, the orgchart chaos, the lowered talent bar, want to move to NYC, or just want to do something different?' 'Email me, DM me, mail a postcard,' he wrote. More stories like this are available on
Tom's Guide
12-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
I used Perplexity AI to plan my next trip — here's how you can too
Planning a trip abroad is only as stressful as you make it. If you're tight on time and don't want to watch lengthy travel vlogs or fall down research rabbit holes, Perplexity AI is proving useful to millions of travelers. Earlier this year, Tripadvisor and Perplexity announced a partnership which gives the chatbot access to more than one billion reviews and contributions. With the right prompts you'll be able to make the most out of all that information so that instead of simply relying on suggestions written by people you don't know, you can tell Perplexity what you'd actually enjoy doing. If you're one of the 1.5 million people flying from the US to Japan this summer, why not also use AI to make your experience extra memorable? Perplexity Co-Founder Johnny Ho revealed travel is a top search category for users of his AI chatbot. It's easy to see why. With a dedicated AI travel section and a user experience that matches that of the best chatbots you've used so far, Perplexity will surely make planning your next vacation abroad a breeze. To get travel advice you'd actually want to follow using Perplexity, this is exactly what you need to do. To get started you'll want to sign in to your Perplexity account. If you don't have an account yet, you can get started for free with your existing Google or Apple accounts. Alternatively, you can register using your email address and a sign-in code will be automatically sent to your inbox. Once you're logged in, you'll want to head straight to Perplexity Travel. You can access the section using the new thread button represented by a plus symbol. Then click on the travel tab in the sidebar. In Perplexity Travel you'll have the opportunity to create your own adventure or let yourself be inspired by a curated selection of travel guides. To access one of the ready-made pieces, scroll down to the Trending Destinations and Inspiration sections and click on your desired experience. If you've already made up your mind about where you want to travel to and want to create your own custom guide, then this is where the prompt box comes in. Like all other major Chatbots, simply type in your prompt and click submit. One way to use Perplexity Travel is to ask it to act as a boutique travel agent. In this way, it will ask you relevant questions that will help it create a travel itinerary that you'd actually enjoy. An example of a prompt you can use is: You are a boutique travel agent focused on curating immersive cultural travel experiences. You will be creating a 7-day itinerary for a young couple visiting Tokyo for the first time. They don't speak Japanese. Create a short list of questions that will help you plan an experience they'd truly enjoy. Once you've had a chat with Perplexity about your interests and special requests, you can request a curated itinerary which includes tips about accommodation, food, and transport. Perplexity started by recommending a hotel and it went on to provide me with a 7-day itinerary. It suggested morning, afternoon, and evening activities along with restaurant options. If you're curious to know where Perplexity Travel is basing its recommendations on, you'll find a handy list of sources you can browse through. For my Tokyo guide I saw that it was pulling information from all the right places including Tripadvisor, Viator, and Expedia. This information is available in the sources tab. For a more precise look at how Perplexity handled your request, you can even have a look at the steps it took to create your travel plan. It shows how the information was obtained, along with the search queries it used. To view all this, simply click on the steps tab. Now you've learned how to use Perplexity as your own travel agent, why not take a look at our other useful AI articles? Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Check out I tested 5 custom GPTs — skip the rest and try these today and you're not using ChatGPT right unless you ask these 4 questions. And if you're interesting in creating the best images in Gemini, don't miss this article.
South China Morning Post
25-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong security firm's coming closure ‘not a warning sign for industry'
The impending closure of one of Hong Kong's leading security firms does not sound the alarm about a wave of industry shutdowns, trade representatives have said, while staff shortages remain a challenge for businesses. Johnny Ho Kai-man, chairman of the Chamber of Security Industry, told the Post that the closure of CNT Security Company could be described as a 'glorious winding up'. Ho said the company was respected in the industry and that it did its due diligence by laying out a road map for its expected closure next April. 'The termination of contracts with its clients and staff was done gradually to reduce the impact on them,' he said. 'Compared with the recent waves of business closures in which some companies just pulled the shutters on customers and staff suddenly, this is considered legally responsible.' The firm, chaired by a retired senior police officer, will cease operations before next April, with more than 2,000 employees expected to be laid off.
