Who Is Aravind Srinivas? Meet Perplexity CEO Behind $34.5 Billion Bid for Google Chrome
An Indian-origin tech entrepreneur is making headlines globally after making a bold move to acquire Google Chrome. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of AI startup Perplexity, recently sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on August 12, proposing an all-cash acquisition of the popular web browser, according to Reuters.
In a surprising move, Srinivas’ company has offered a staggering $34.5 billion to buy Google Chrome, despite Perplexity AI reportedly being valued at around $18 billion. The unsolicited bid, which far exceeds the company’s own valuation, has sparked curiosity and discussions across the tech world.
Srinivas, 31, was born and raised in Chennai, India. He graduated from IIT Madras before pursuing higher studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He co-founded Perplexity AI in 2022 along with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. The startup’s flagship product is an AI-powered search engine that delivers direct, conversational answers using real-time data, positioning it as a potential challenger to traditional search engines like Google.
Before founding Perplexity, Srinivas gained experience in the AI and tech ecosystem through roles at Google and collaborations with renowned AI researcher Yoshua Bengio. These experiences helped him build expertise in search and information retrieval technologies, which now underpin his company’s mission.
The timing of the bid is notable. Google is facing legal challenges following a major antitrust ruling in the United States, where a US District Judge found that the company maintained its search monopoly through illegal practices, including paying billions to remain the default search option on devices and browsers. Google has announced plans to appeal, but the legal process could take years.
So far, Google has not responded publicly to Srinivas’ acquisition offer. While Perplexity has raised around $1 billion to date, the company claims several investment firms are willing to fully fund the proposed deal, though the names of these potential financiers have not been disclosed.
Whether Google will entertain the proposal remains uncertain, but the bid has already thrust Aravind Srinivas and Perplexity AI into the global spotlight.
