Who Is Aravind Srinivas? Meet Perplexity CEO Behind $34.5 Billion Bid For Google Chrome

Last Updated:August 14, 2025, 01:02 IST

He co-founded Perplexity AI in 2022 alongside Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski.

Srinivas, 31, was born and raised in Chennai, India (File photo: X)

An Indian-origin tech entrepreneur is making waves across the tech world after making an audacious offer to acquire Google Chrome. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the 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, as reported by Reuters.

In a bold and unexpected move, Srinivas’ company has offered a staggering $34.5 billion to purchase Google Chrome, despite Perplexity AI reportedly being valued at around $18 billion. The unsolicited bid, which significantly overshoots the company’s own valuation, has sparked surprise and curiosity across the global tech landscape.

Srinivas, 31, was born and raised in Chennai, India. A graduate of IIT Madras, he later pursued higher education at the University of California, Berkeley. He co-founded Perplexity AI in 2022 alongside Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski. The company’s core product is an AI-powered search engine designed to deliver direct, conversational answers using real-time information, positioning itself as a potential challenger to traditional search engines like Google.

Before launching Perplexity, Srinivas accumulated valuable experience in the AI and tech ecosystem, having previously worked at Google, and collaborated with influential AI researcher Yoshua Bengio. These formative roles helped shape his expertise in search and information retrieval technologies, which are now at the heart of his company’s mission.

The timing of the bid is noteworthy. Google is currently facing legal challenges following a major antitrust ruling in the United States. A US District Judge recently ruled that Google had 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 litigation process could take years.

So far, Google has not issued a public response to Srinivas’ acquisition offer. While Perplexity has only raised around $1 billion to date, it claims that multiple investment firms have offered to fully fund the proposed deal. However, the company has not disclosed the names of these potential financiers.

Whether Google will entertain the proposal remains unclear, but the bid has already placed Aravind Srinivas and Perplexity AI firmly in the global spotlight.

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New York, United States of America (USA)

First Published:

August 14, 2025, 01:02 IST

News world Who Is Aravind Srinivas? Meet Perplexity CEO Behind $34.5 Billion Bid For Google Chrome

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