How we built $1B Startup in 2 Years | Perplexity AI, Aravind Srinivas

Summary

Arvind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, introduces Perplexity as a revolutionary conversational search engine that delivers instant answers in natural language, eliminating the need for users to sift through multiple links. Launched in December 2022, it has grown exponentially to 10 million monthly active users. Arvind's journey from India, through IIT and Berkeley, to an impactful internship at OpenAI, led him to co-found Perplexity. The company's mission is to create an AI that not only provides answers but also cites sources, akin to academic research, fostering a knowledge-centric future for online information consumption. With a focus on quality and user experience, Perplexity aims to redefine how we interact with the internet.

Takeaways

• 🧑‍💼 Arvind Srinivas is the co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI, a conversational search engine designed to answer questions in natural language.
• 🚀 Perplexity AI launched on December 7th, 2022, and has grown to 10 million monthly active users within a year.
• 🎓 Arvind's background includes studying at IIT, a PhD in AI and deep learning from Berkeley, and an internship at OpenAI.
• 💡 Arvind discovered his interest in AI through a machine learning contest and was inspired to delve deeper into the field.
• 🔍 Perplexity aims to revolutionize online information consumption by providing instant answers to questions rather than lists of links.
• 🤖 The company's technology combines generative AI and reinforcement learning (RL), leading to innovations like ChatGPT.
• 🔗 Perplexity's AI provides answers with corresponding references or citations, inspired by academic practices of backing up claims with sources.
• 🤝 Arvind emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurship and creating a product that allows him to execute on his own vision.
• 💡 The concept of a conversational answer engine is to mimic how a person would ask a question to a friend and receive a well-informed response.
• 💰 The Pro plan of Perplexity is priced at $20 a month, the same as ChatGPT Plus, to ensure users value the unique service provided by Perplexity.
• 🛠 Arvind discusses the challenges of building a high-quality AI product, emphasizing the importance of improving every component of the system.

Q & A

Who is Arvind Srinivas and what is his role at Perplexity AI?

Arvind Srinivas is the co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI. He is responsible for leading the company, which has developed a conversational search engine designed to revolutionize how people consume information online.

What is the main goal of Perplexity AI's search engine?

The main goal of Perplexity AI's search engine is to allow users to ask questions in natural language and receive instant answers, rather than the traditional method of receiving a list of links to explore.

When was Perplexity AI's product launched and what is its current user base?

Perplexity AI's product was launched on December 7th, 2022. As of the transcript, they have approximately 10 million monthly active users.

What was Arvind Srinivas' educational background before co-founding Perplexity AI?

Arvind Srinivas grew up in India and studied at one of the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology). He was interested in algorithms and programming from the beginning and later pursued a PhD in AI and deep learning at Berkeley.

How did Arvind Srinivas get introduced to machine learning?

Arvind Srinivas was introduced to machine learning through a friend who told him about a machine learning contest. He found the process of predicting outputs from inputs to be fun and won the contest, which led him to delve deeper into the field.

What was Arvind Srinivas' experience like during his internship at OpenAI?

During his internship at OpenAI in 2018, Arvind Srinivas realized that there were many people who were much better than him, which served as a reality check and motivated him to improve his programming and first principles thinking.

What is the significance of the research topic Arvind Srinivas found during his time at Berkeley?

Arvind Srinivas found a new research topic on how to combine generative AI and reinforcement learning (RL), which led to the development of technologies like ChatGPT that can predict text and communicate effectively with humans.

What is the concept behind Perplexity being the world's first conversational answer engine?

Perplexity aims to build a future where users can ask questions in natural language and receive answers with corresponding references or citations, similar to how academic papers are written with backed-up claims, making the interaction more conversational and informative.

How does Perplexity AI's 'copilot' feature enhance the user experience?

The 'copilot' feature on Perplexity AI serves to interactively clarify and expand on the user's query, similar to how a friend might ask clarifying questions to better understand and provide a helpful response.

What is the growth trajectory of Perplexity AI since its launch?

Since its launch on December 7th, 2022, Perplexity AI has grown from serving around 2000 to 3000 queries on the first day to more than 3 to 4 million queries a day, reflecting a significant increase in user engagement.

How does Perplexity AI ensure the quality of the answers provided to users?

Perplexity AI ensures the quality of answers by continuously improving every component of their system, such as filtering out spammy sites, writing concise summaries without errors, and maintaining a high standard across all aspects of their service.

What is the pricing strategy for Perplexity AI's Pro plan and why is it set at that level?

The Pro plan for Perplexity AI is priced at $20 a month, the same as ChatGPT Plus. This pricing strategy is to ensure that users value Perplexity AI for its unique offering of combining large language models (LLM) with search, rather than just for the use of GPT 4.

What advice does Arvind Srinivas give to startups regarding their focus and execution?

Arvind Srinivas advises startups to focus on very few things, ideally one thing at a time, due to limited resources and the need for speed and quality. He emphasizes the importance of earning the right to ship new features from users by delivering on their needs and maintaining a culture of urgency and execution.

What is Arvind Srinivas' perspective on the decision-making process for startups?

Arvind Srinivas suggests that startups should not weigh all options equally when making decisions. Instead, they should identify the most important factors and focus on those, avoiding the trap of trying to be perfect and embracing the process of continuous improvement.

How does Arvind Srinivas describe his motivation and fulfillment in running a startup?

Arvind Srinivas describes his motivation as being driven by a love for what he does, which remains consistent even as the world changes rapidly. He finds fulfillment in the privilege of working hard and constantly striving to improve the product and serve the mission of the company.