Who Is Aravind Srinivas? AI Maverick, IITian, Challenged Elon Musk, Rs. 1.5 Lakh Crore Worth Busines

Artificial intelligence has taken over the world and has been doing tasks which involve human intelligence. Indian-origin American, Aravind Srinivas is the man behind the AI search engine company, Perplexity, an artificial intelligence-powered search engine that provides accurate real-time answers to any query.

CEO of Perplexity, Aravind, runs an empire worth Rs. 1.5 lakh crore. But before becoming a successful entrepreneur, Aravind worked with many leading companies to prove his potential. An IITian, Aravind also went through a depressive phase in his life, which not many people are aware of. Today, let us read about the 31-year-old entrepreneur who changed the face of artificial intelligence.

Aravind Srinivas has a dual degree in electrical engineering

Aravind did his engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, earning his bachelor and master of technology degrees in electrical engineering. After pursuing his dual degrees (B.Tech and M.Tech) in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras, Aravind went on to earn a PhD in Computer Science from the reputed University of California, Berkeley. 

Aravind Srinivas went into depression when he failed to get admission to Computer Science

When Aravind didn’t get admission to computer science at IIT Madras, he was depressed. He tried to switch from electrical to computer after the first semester but missed out. In Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan’s podcast, Aravind spoke about the same and said:

“I was disappointed I didn't get computer science in IIT Madras. My friends who were training together with me for JEE (Joint Entrance Examination), all got into computer science.  For one year, I was just depressed. At the end of your first semester IIT gives you an option to change your branch if you get about a certain CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average), and I missed that by 0.01. I thought that was the end of the world. I was so mad at myself. I went into a whole shell.”

Aravind Srinivas began his career as an intern at OpenAI

When Aravind didn’t get into computer science, it turned out into a blessing in disguise as his electrical engineering provided him with concepts for machine learning. Despite not getting into computer science, Aravind acquired machine learning, which was crucial for AI.

In 2018, Aravind started his career as a research intern at OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT and later worked in companies like Google and DeepMind. Before co-founding Perplexity AI, Aravind returned to OpenAI as a research scientist in 2021 after his PhD. He later co-founded Perplexity AI with Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats, and Johnny Ho. His firm is backed by big investors including, Jeff Bezos.

Aravind Srinivas once challenged Elon Musk

The entrepreneur, Aravind Srinivas, once challenged billionaire Elon Musk. The challenge came after USAID faced a shutdown after President Donald Trump labelled the agency “corrupt.” Taking to his X handle, Aravind challenged his Tesla counterpart Elon Musk to "stop" him if he can from raising a mammoth sum from the federal agency.

Aravind Srinivas’ Rs. 1.5 Lakh Cr Worth Business empire and whopping net worth

Within two years of founding, Aravind Srinivas’ Perplexity AI achieved a $1 billion valuation, which is approximately Rs. 1.5 lakh crore. The company’s annual revenue is around 50 million USD. Aravind himself is an angel investor and has a significant stake in companies like Chennai Meenakshi Multispeciality Hospital Ltd. and eMudhra Ltd. As per multiple reports, his estimated net worth is around Rs. 223.8 crore.

Despite his immense wealth and success, Aravind Srinivas likes to maintain a low profile. Did you know about these rare facts about the leading entrepreneur? Let us know.

Also Read: Meet KKR's Sunil Narine: IPL's Mystery Spinner's Marriage With Nandita Kumar And Anjellia Suchit

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Get App

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Choose your device Android or IOS (Apple)