Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on the rush toward an AI-curated web | TechCrunch Disrupt 2024

Summary

The interview explores the challenges and strategies behind a rapidly growing AI company, focusing on its use of cutting-edge models to streamline content creation and research. The leader discusses the company's approach to monetizing AI through usage-based models, navigating high operational costs, and competing with industry giants like Google. Legal concerns over copyright and the accessibility of facts are addressed, highlighting the complexity of IP law in AI. The conversation concludes with a personal reflection on the leader's struggles with the U.S. immigration system, underscoring broader systemic issues.

Takeaways

• 😀 Perplexity is offering its premium subscription and API credits to media companies to help them create content more effectively.
• 😀 The company believes its research tools can significantly streamline the content creation and fact-checking processes for journalists.
• 😀 There is a complex and evolving conversation around copyright law, with the speaker arguing that facts should not be copyrighted and should be freely available for everyone.
• 😀 AI models are expensive to run, primarily due to the high costs of GPUs and data centers, but these costs are expected to decrease over time, potentially reducing AI service prices dramatically.
• 😀 Perplexity's growth strategy involves focusing on scaling operations while dealing with short-term costs, with the goal of making AI more affordable in the future.
• 😀 The company aims to explore alternative revenue models beyond subscriptions, such as usage-based monetization, to drive long-term growth and profitability.
• 😀 Despite competition, the speaker does not foresee a significant immediate shift in advertising spending from companies like Google to emerging platforms like Perplexity.
• 😀 The speaker discusses how new platforms should prioritize maintaining user trust and avoid over-optimizing for ad revenue, as doing so could harm the product's integrity.
• 😀 The speaker reveals their ongoing struggles with the U.S. immigration system, particularly the challenges of obtaining a green card due to per-country caps and backlogs, especially for Indian nationals.
• 😀 The speaker advocates for reforming the U.S. immigration system to address these backlogs, ensuring a more efficient and fair process for those seeking permanent residency.
• 😀 Despite inquiries, the speaker does not confirm or deny any acquisition offers from major companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, or Google, indicating a cautious stance on speculation about such deals.

Q & A

What is the primary benefit of Perplexity's AI product for media companies?

Perplexity's AI product helps media companies by streamlining content creation, research, and fact-checking. It enables more efficient content generation and better research for journalists and content creators.

How does Perplexity's AI technology contribute to the research process?

Perplexity provides advanced tools that assist with gathering facts, conducting research on specific topics, and verifying information, making the process of creating journalistic content more efficient and accurate.

What is the stance of Perplexity's team on intellectual property laws?

The team believes that facts should be universally accessible and distributed. They argue that owning facts or restricting their dissemination is counterproductive, emphasizing the importance of freely sharing knowledge.

How does Perplexity plan to reduce the operational costs of its AI tools in the future?

Perplexity expects the cost of GPUs and data centers, which are currently expensive, to decrease over time. They anticipate a significant drop in operational costs, potentially 10 to 50 times lower, in the next couple of years.

What alternative revenue models is Perplexity exploring outside of subscriptions?

In addition to subscriptions, Perplexity is exploring usage-based monetization strategies. The company sees potential in monetizing AI products based on how frequently and how much they are used, rather than relying solely on subscription fees.

Does Perplexity intend to directly compete with companies like Google in the advertising space?

Perplexity does not aim to directly replace Google. Instead, the company is focused on creating a new niche. They believe that while new platforms may grow, it's essential to maintain user trust and avoid disrupting the ad revenue model too aggressively.

What is Perplexity's approach to advertising and ad revenue growth?

Perplexity is cautious about over-optimizing for ad revenue, as they want to avoid losing user trust or damaging the integrity of their platform. Their focus is on growing organically while ensuring that advertisers feel safe with their brand's presence.

Has Perplexity received any acquisition offers from major tech companies?

Perplexity has not confirmed any specific offers from companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, or Amazon. However, they acknowledge that Meta did reach out to them.

What personal challenge did the speaker discuss regarding immigration?

The speaker shared their frustration with the U.S. immigration system, particularly the backlog for Indian nationals seeking permanent residency (green cards). They emphasized that the system could be improved to handle the demand more effectively.

What is the speaker's opinion on the current state of the U.S. immigration system?

The speaker believes that the U.S. immigration system, particularly the per-country caps and the backlog, is inefficient and needs improvement. They hope that by raising awareness, positive changes can be made.