Aravind Srinivas: Perplexity's Race to Build Agentic Search

In this interview, Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity, discusses the company's origins, its current state, and its future plans to compete with major tech companies like Google and OpenAI. He shares insights on Perplexity's initial focus on natural language to SQL, its evolution into a search and answer engine, and the strategic decision to develop a browser, Comet, to differentiate itself from competitors. Aravind addresses concerns about competition, emphasizing the importance of speed, innovation, and focusing on accuracy. He also touches on Perplexity's business model, partnerships, and the challenges of maintaining accuracy and avoiding bias in AI-driven search results. The conversation also explores the impact of AI coding tools on software development and the enduring value of brand and narrative in a competitive landscape.