Aravind Srinivas speaks during the Semafor 2024 World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C. on April 18, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

Aravind Srinivas is going straight for Google (GOOGL). The 31-year-old founder and CEO of Perplexity AI, a rapidly rising startup valued at $9 billion, is building what’s dubbed an “answer engine” to compete with the search giant. Founded in 2022, Perplexity’s main product is a search engine that uses A.I. to generate nuanced answers—instead of links—in response to user queries.

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In December 2024, Perplexity closed a $500 million funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners. Even by the lofty standards of other A.I. startups, Perplexity’s growth last year was one for the books: The company was valued at $1 billion in April 2024. Just two months later, that figure rose to $3........

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