In a candid revelation, Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-origin CEO of AI startup Perplexity, shared how familial expectations clashed with his entrepreneurial ambitions, while passionately advocating for a shift in mindset among Indian tech talent to prioritise building global companies over managing them.
Speaking in an interview with the Economic Times, Srinivas recounted the cultural pressures back home that steered many toward stable, high-profile jobs at tech giants. "My mom wanted me at Google," he quipped, highlighting the widespread Indian parental dream of seeing their children secure spots at Silicon Valley behemoths like Alphabet or Microsoft. Yet, Srinivas chose a different path, founding Perplexity in 2022 to challenge established players in the AI search space.
Srinivas's journey draws inspiration from the successes of Indian diaspora leaders such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. While their ascents were "proud moments for India," he argued they inadvertently reinforced a limiting narrative. "Sundar Pichai becoming CEO was a proud moment for India, but it also reinforced the idea that Indians should run other people’s companies," Srinivas said.
This realisation fueled his resolve to demonstrate that Indians aren't just exceptional managers but potentially superior founders. "I am from India, and I want to show we can build companies, not just manage them. The best way to inspire is to go do it," he emphasised.
Srinivas expressed hope for the next generation, urging them to aim higher, "My hope is that the next generation sees it is possible to build the next Google, not just work there. I am not saying I alone will do it, but if more founders try to build at global scale, it will shift the mindset."
Under Srinivas's leadership, Perplexity has rapidly gained traction in the competitive AI landscape, recently launching the Comet web browser powered by 'Agentic AI' for seamless integration—outpacing offerings from Google and Microsoft, according to the company. Despite direct rivalry with Microsoft's Copilot, Srinivas maintains a close mentorship with Nadella, chatting roughly once a month. He lauded the Microsoft leader as someone who could have been a "great founder" and has effectively "refounded" the software giant.
"If Perplexity succeeds and we can do business together, that is fine," Srinivas added, underscoring a collaborative spirit amid cutthroat competition.
Perplexity has around 300 employees in areas like New York, Austin, Seattle, London and a few other spots. "We are considering not only a policy presence in Delhi but also engineering. We are debating whether it should be Bengaluru or Hyderabad. India has great backend and infrastructure talent. Partnerships are also important given India’s consumer landscape in travel, shopping, education and healthcare," Srinivas said.
