Aravind Srinivas
Unicorn founderCo-founder & CEO at Perplexity · Research Scientist at OpenAI · Research Intern at DeepMind
San Francisco, CA
FoundedPerplexity$21.2B
Find your path to Aravind
314 people in our graph share verified history with Aravind — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Fraser KeltonunlockedAravind: together at OpenAI (2020–2022)
×7Aravind: together at OpenAI
×3Aravind: together at Perplexity
Aravind: together at DeepMind
About
Aravind Srinivas co-founded Perplexity AI in August 2022 and turned the citation-backed 'answer engine' into a $20 billion Google challenger — its September 2025 round closed at that mark, with Nvidia reported in August 2026 to be leading a new round above $30 billion. Raised in Chennai, he took a dual degree in electrical engineering at IIT Madras and a Berkeley PhD under Pieter Abbeel, with research stops at OpenAI, DeepMind, and Google before returning to OpenAI as a research scientist on work leading toward DALL-E 2. He founded Perplexity with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski; at 31 the Hurun list called him India's youngest billionaire, and he once made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded Perplexity AI in August 2022 with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, positioning it as a citation-backed answer engine.
- Education
- Berkeley PhD (2017–2021) under Pieter Abbeel; dissertation on representation learning for perception and control.
- Awards
- Named to the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI, 2024. Debuted on the Hurun India Rich List in October 2025 at ~$2.5B, reported as India's youngest billionaire at 31.
- Family
- Born in 1994 and raised in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in a family with a finance rather than technology background.
- More
- Made an unsolicited $34.5B bid to buy Google's Chrome browser in August 2025. Worked at all three of OpenAI, DeepMind, and Google before founding Perplexity. Cristiano Ronaldo took a stake in Perplexity in December 2025 as part of a global brand partnership.
Mentioned above: the OpenAI mafia → · the DeepMind mafia →
From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at Perplexity
Intro paths
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In turn, Aravind can intro founders to Perplexity's investors below.
Perplexity's investors · 56
359 Capitalsince 20237BC Venture CapitalSan Francisco · since 2023AccelPalo Alto · $1.6M – $70M checks · since 2023Advaita CapitalBoston · since 2023AIX VenturesSan Francisco · $1M – $5M checks · since 2023Arrington CapitalMiami · since 2023Arrington XRP CapitalSeattle · $100K – $5M checks · since 2023Aser VenturesLondon · since 2023AVVHo Chi Minh City · $250K – $2M checks · since 2023B Capital GroupManhattan Beach · $10M – $50M checks · since 2023B4 Capital$10M – $50M checks · since 2023Balaji Srinivasan$10K – $500K checks · since 2023Bessemer Venture PartnersRedwood City · $5M – $100M checks · since 2023Beyond CapitalSan Diego · since 2023Bezos Expeditionssince 2023BroadLight CapitalGreenwich · since 2023Builders + Backerssince 2023Cosmic Venture PartnersAustin · $100K – $5M checks · since 2023Databricks VenturesSan Francisco · since 2023Defy PartnersWoodside · $3M – $10M checks · since 2023Deviation CapitalNew York · since 2023E1 VenturesSan Francisco · since 2023Elad GilSan Francisco · $100K – $10M checks · since 2023EQUIAMSan Francisco · $1M – $10M checks · since 2023Factorial FundsSan Francisco · since 2023Firestreak Venturessince 2023Flex Capital PartnersSan Francisco · $500K – $2M checks · since 2023Foundation CapitalSan Francisco · $250K – $15M checks · since 2023Gestio CapitalLondon · since 2023Glade Brook Capital PartnersGreenwich · since 2023Graphene VenturesPalo Alto · $500K – $2M checks · since 2023IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)San Francisco · $15M – $75M checks · since 2023Khosla VenturesMenlo Park · $5K – $50M checks · since 2023Kindred VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $2M checks · since 2023Laude VenturesAtherton · since 2023M13New York · $4M – $7M checks · since 2023Maven VenturesPalo Alto · $1M checks · since 2023Millennium Technology Value PartnersBelgrade · since 2023MyAsiaVCSeattle · since 2023Nearingpoint Venture Partners Inc.Toronto · since 2023New Enterprise Associates (NEA)Menlo Park · $200K – $40M checks · since 2023Norwest Venture PartnersMenlo Park · $10M – $30M checks · since 2023Notable CapitalSilicon Valley · $5M – $50M checks · since 2023NuVenturesNew Jersey · since 2023ProgressionSan Francisco · $100K – $1M checks · since 2023Rosecliff VenturesNew York City · $500K checks · since 2023Samsung NextSan Jose · $100K – $5M checks · since 2023SoftBank Vision FundLondon · since 2023SquareOne CapitalMiami · since 2023Standard CapitalSan Francisco · since 2023Strategxy Ventures LLCBeverly Hills · $1M – $5M checks · since 2023Valor Capital GroupNew York · $100K – $5M checks · since 2023VeronorteMedellín · since 2023WAGMI Venturessince 2023WayraMadrid · $54K – $5.4M checks · since 2023WealthUnion$10K checks · since 2023
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Co-founders at Perplexity
AD
Andrew D. KonwinskiExecutive Officer, Director
DY
Dzianis YaratsDirector
AS
Aravind Srinivas LakshminarayananDirector, Executive Officer
DY
Denis YaratsCo-founder & CTO
Research Scientist at OpenAI
Intro paths
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In turn, Aravind can intro founders to OpenAI's investors below.
OpenAI's investors · 61
A.Capital VenturesSan FranciscoA'Z AngelsLos GatosAdvent InternationalBoston · $1.1B checksAlpha Wave GlobalMiamiAltimeter CapitalMenlo Park · $1M – $25M checks · since 2026Andreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checksAntiSan Juan · $250K – $30M checksBedrockLos Angeles · $5M – $30M checksboldstart venturesMiami · $1M – $3M checksCoatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checksCosmic Venture PartnersAustin · $100K – $5M checksDragoneer Investment GroupSan Francisco · $100K – $5M checks · since 2025Eastlink Capital PartnersMenlo Park · $100K – $5M checksEmerson Collective InvestingPalo Alto · $100K – $1M checksEverybody Ventures$100K checksFelicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checksFirestreak VenturesFounders FundSan Francisco · $500K – $5M checksFrontier VenturesCupertino · $100K – $5M checksGaldana VenturesBarcelonaGestio CapitalLondonGlynn Capital ManagementMenlo ParkGreylock PartnersSan Francisco · $100K – $200M checksHOF CapitalNew York · $25K – $15M checksICONIQSan FranciscoIneffable VenturesStamfordKaleida CapitalSan DiegoKhosla VenturesMenlo Park · $5K – $50M checksLakeside CapitalTampa · $100K – $250K checksMadrona Venture GroupSeattle · $2M – $10M checksMastrySan FranciscoMaverick VenturesSan Francisco · $3M – $10M checksMech VenturesLas VegasMGXAbu Dhabi · since 2025Next Legacy PartnersPortola ValleyNVIDIASanta ClaraOssian CapitalPeter ThielRiverbend CapitalWashingtonRosecliff VenturesNew York City · $500K checksSanctor CapitalNew YorkSequoia CapitalMenlo Park · $4.4M – $214M checksSGH CapitalParisSoftBank GroupTokyoSoftBank Vision FundLondonSoma CapitalSacramento · $100K – $300K checksSound VenturesSanta MonicaSparkLabs KoreaPalo AltoSquareOne CapitalMiamiStack CapitalTorontoStandard CapitalSan FranciscoSV AngelSan FranciscoT. Rowe PriceBaltimore · since 2025Thrive CapitalNew York · $500K – $25M checks · since 2025Touring CapitalSan FranciscoType One VenturesLos Angeles · $100K – $5M checksValkyrie Ventures Management, LlcPark CityVU Venture PartnersSan Francisco · $200K – $1M checksWAGMI VenturesWealthUnion$10K checksXYZ Venture CapitalSan Francisco · $10K – $5M checks
Co-founders at OpenAI
SA
Sam AltmanCo-founder & CEO
EM
Elon MuskCo-founder & former Co-chair / board member
GB
Greg BrockmanCo-founder & President
IS
Ilya SutskeverCo-founder & Chief Scientist
WZ
Wojciech ZarembaCo-founder
JS
John SchulmanCo-founder (departed 2024)
AK
Andrej KarpathyCo-founder
TB
Trevor BlackwellCo-founder
Research Intern at DeepMind
Intro paths
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In turn, Aravind can intro founders to DeepMind's investors below.
DeepMind's investors · 3
Co-founders at DeepMind
DH
Demis HassabisCo-founder & CEO
SL
Shane LeggCo-founder & Chief AGI Scientist
MS
Mustafa SuleymanCo-founder
Experience
- PerplexityCofounder, President, CEOcurrent2022 — present
- Aravind SrinivasAngel Investorcurrent2023 — present
- OpenAIResearch Scientist2021 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
- GoogleResearch Intern2020 — 2021Mountain View, California, United States
- DeepMindResearch Intern2019London Area, United Kingdom
- OpenAIResearch Intern2018San Francisco Bay Area
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Aravind SrinivasCNBC's full interview with Perplexity founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas
CNBC Squawk Box · cnbc.com
Perplexity CEO on Chrome, AI and challenging the tech giants
The Times Tech Podcast · shows.acast.com
Aravind Srinivas: The Race to Build the AI Browser of the Future
AI Startup School
How To Build The Future: Aravind Srinivas
How to Build the Future
Aravind Srinivas: Perplexity CEO on Future of AI, Search & the Internet
Lex Fridman Podcast · lexfridman.com
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Aravind Srinivas?
- Aravind Srinivas co-founded Perplexity AI in August 2022 and turned the citation-backed 'answer engine' into a $20 billion Google challenger — its September 2025 round closed at that mark, with Nvidia reported in August 2026 to be leading a new round above $30 billion. Raised in Chennai, he took a dual degree in electrical engineering at IIT Madras and a Berkeley PhD under Pieter Abbeel, with research stops at OpenAI, DeepMind, and Google before returning to OpenAI as a research scientist on work leading toward DALL-E 2. He founded Perplexity with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski; at 31 the Hurun list called him India's youngest billionaire, and he once made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser.
- Where does Aravind Srinivas work?
- Aravind Srinivas is Co-founder & CEO of Perplexity and Research Scientist at OpenAI and Research Intern at DeepMind.
- What companies did Aravind Srinivas found?
- Aravind Srinivas founded Perplexity.
- Where did Aravind Srinivas go to school?
- Aravind Srinivas studied at University of California, Berkeley (Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Computer Science); Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (Dual Degree (B.Tech and M.Tech), Electrical Engineering).
- What awards has Aravind Srinivas received?
- Named to the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI, 2024. Debuted on the Hurun India Rich List in October 2025 at ~$2.5B, reported as India's youngest billionaire at 31.
- What podcasts and interviews feature Aravind Srinivas?
- Tracked appearances include "CNBC's full interview with Perplexity founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas", "Perplexity CEO on Chrome, AI and challenging the tech giants", "Aravind Srinivas: The Race to Build the AI Browser of the Future", and 2 more.
Founder mafias
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras mafia125
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ashok SanthanamBSFounded FogLogic +2Kamesh RaghavendraBachelor of TechnologyFounded Geminus +1Venkat ViswanathanBachelor of Technology and Master of TechnologyFounded AIONICS +1Sridhar RamaswamyB. Tech.Founded Neeva +1Akash AnandBachelor of Technology (BTech)Founded Desklamp +1Neel BalarDual Degree(B.Tech + M.Tech)Founded Desklamp +1
+ 118 more
OpenAI mafia103
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Reid HoffmanBoard MemberFounded LinkedIn +2Sam AltmanCo-founder & CEOFounded Tools for Humanity +2Elon MuskCo-founder & former Co-chair / board memberFounded PayPal +5Ilya SutskeverCo-founder & Chief ScientistFounded Safe SuperintelligenceDario AmodeiVP of ResearchFounded AnthropicDaniela AmodeiVP of People, then VP of Safety and PolicyFounded Anthropic
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DeepMind mafia48
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Demis HassabisCo-founder & CEOFounded Google Deepmind +1Mustafa SuleymanCo-founderFounded Inflection AIArthur MenschResearch ScientistFounded Mistral AIGabriel PereyraResearch ScientistFounded HarveyAndy ZengSenior Research ScientistFounded 8Vc +1Emma QianResearch EngineerFounded Nova AI +1
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Same school
Also attended University of California, Berkeley2,000
Byron DeeterPartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersSteve WozniakCo-founder of AppleTony XuCo-founder & CEO of DoorDashAli GhodsiCo-founder & CEO of DatabricksRyan PetersenFounder & CEO of FlexportAbraham BachrachCo-founder & CTO of Skydio
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Indian Institute of Technology, Madras201
Sundeep PeechuGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesRajesh SwaminathanInvestor at Khosla VenturesAshok SanthanamManaging Director at Copper Sky CapitalHanyang WangDirector at Qualcomm VenturesAparnaAdvisor at NewBuild.VCParthaAdvisor at NewBuild.VC
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Shared employers
Also worked at Perplexity49
Byron DeeterPartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersCack WilhelmInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Ash ShrivastavVenture Partner at Buckhill CapitalTaz PatelInvestor at Green Cow Venture CapitalGiovanni CaloInvestment Analyst at Mercato PartnersStu SmithPartner at Scribble Ventures
+ 43 more
Also worked at OpenAI180
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockPat GradyPartner at Sequoia CapitalGreg BrockmanCo-founder & President of OpenAIIlya SutskeverCo-founder of OpenAI; co-founder & CEO of Safe SuperintelligenceDario AmodeiCo-founder & CEO of AnthropicDaniela AmodeiCo-founder & President of Anthropic
+ 174 more
Also worked at Google2,000
Kai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalHunter WalkCo-founder & Partner at HomebrewAydin SenkutFounder & Managing Partner at FelicisLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalG
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Also worked at DeepMind93
Demis HassabisCo-founder & CEO of Google DeepMindMustafa SuleymanCo-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI; CEO of Microsoft AIArthur MenschCo-founder & CEO of Mistral AIGabriel PereyraCo-founder & President of HarveyJeff RoseAdvisor at AI CapitalVishal MainiFounder & Managing Partner at Mythos Ventures Management, Llc
+ 87 more