'I Don't Do Anything Other Than Working,' Says Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas As His $14 Billion AI Startup Challenges Tech Giants

Perplexity Chief Executive Officer Aravind Srinivas says speed and urgency are nonnegotiable as his artificial intelligence startup races tech giants.

"I don't do anything other than working," Aravind Srinivas admitted in a Reddit Ask Me Anything in May, emphasizing the intense focus needed to stay ahead in the AI race. Srinivas leads a $14 billion search engine challenge to Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, GOOGL)), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Speaking at Y Combinator's AI Startup School in mid-June, he warned that bigger firms will inevitably copy successful ideas.

Investors crave speed, rivals borrow ideas, and users expect quick answers. Srinivas's strategy is clear: move faster than fear and keep building. His advice to founders is to treat urgency as a protective moat until the tech giants catch up.

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Embracing Fear As Strategy

"Live with that fear. You have to embrace it," Srinivas told the students, explaining that founders must remember "your moat comes from moving fast and building your own identity." He added a broader warning: "You should assume that if you have a big hit… a model company will copy it."

Perplexity shocked Silicon Valley with a $14 billion valuation after its Series C funding round in May. Bloomberg reported in June that Apple executives even discussed acquiring the startup to strengthen Safari's search abilities. Google and Microsoft responded by adding AI summaries to their search results. Srinivas simply shrugs, insisting that speed outpaces scale.

Work-Life Trade-Offs Get Real

Srinivas doesn't downplay the personal strain of running an AI startup. In the same Reddit AMA, he admitted to working nonstop, squeezing in audiobooks and podcasts whenever he could—even if sleep had to wait. He urges individuals to ditch doom‑scrolling on Instagram and focus on mastering AI instead, warning that adaptability and grit—not comfort—will determine who thrives as the field accelerates.

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AI Gold Rush Raises Stakes

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted a "one-person billion-dollar company" while chatting with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian last year. Meanwhile, former "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban went further in June, telling the “High Performance" podcast that AI may mint the first "trillionaire… just one dude in a basement." Those forecasts intensify the spotlight on Perplexity and the broader AI field.

But with that spotlight comes pressure. Perplexity's head of communications, Jesse Dwyer, told Business Insider that Big Tech companies "not only copy your features but they also try to drown your voice," highlighting the uphill communication battle startups face when competing with dominant platforms.

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