AI search, San Francisco

Perplexity

San Francisco · Founded August 2022

Quick read

Perplexity AI, an AI-powered answer engine, was founded in August 2022 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. It has grown from $100M to $500M in revenue while keeping headcount flat, and is now pushing beyond search into agentic AI with its 'Computer' product line. The company raised $1.7B+ in total funding at a $22.6B valuation and runs on a subscription-first model targeting high-value professional users.

Key facts

Founded
August 2022
Founders
Aravind Srinivas, Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Gustav Lindqvist
Employees
250
Sectors
ai, saas, enterprise
Website
perplexity.ai

Mission

Build an AI-native answer engine that replaces traditional keyword search with real-time, cited, conversational responses — monetised through high-ARPU subscriptions targeting professionals rather than ad-based volume.

Recent activity

  • Jun 2026press
    CEO Aravind Srinivas told CNBC that Perplexity is targeting a 2028 IPO, regardless of how rivals Anthropic and OpenAI approach public markets. cnbc.com
  • Jun 2026product
    Launched the 'Billion Dollar Build' — an 8-week competition where teams use Perplexity Computer to build a business with a path to $1B. Finalists can win up to $1M in investment from the Perplexity Fund plus $1M in Computer credits, with top 10 presenting live on June 9. linkedin.com
  • Jun 2026product
    Perplexity Computer integrated with Plaid, letting users link bank accounts, credit cards, and loans. All users can access portfolio tracking and ask Perplexity about their finances; agentic Computer tasks remain exclusive to Pro and Max subscribers. linkedin.com
  • Apr 2026press
    Annualised revenue hit $500M — a fivefold increase from $100M in March 2025 — while headcount grew only 34%. CEO Srinivas confirmed the figure on X. forbesindia.com
  • Mar 2026investment
    Joined the Nemotron Coalition, a group launched by Nvidia in March 2026. nextomoro.com
  • Feb 2026product
    Discontinued AI-integrated advertising and moved to a fully subscription-first model. Leadership cited preserving user trust in the answer engine as the reason for dropping ad revenue. en.wikipedia.org
  • Feb 2026product
    Launched 'Model Council' on February 5, allowing users to compare outputs from multiple large language models — including GPT-5.2 and Claude 4.6 — side by side. Also began offering a free year of Pro access to students. en.wikipedia.org
  • Dec 2025investment
    Cristiano Ronaldo took an undisclosed equity stake in Perplexity AI and entered a global brand partnership with the company. en.wikipedia.org
  • Mar 2026product
    Announced Perplexity Personal Computer — an always-on agent running continuously on a Mac Mini, with an initial waitlist open to users. x.com
  • Mar 2026press
    Plaid partnered with Perplexity to add AI financial research capabilities to its platform. tracxn.com
  • Feb 2026product
    Launched Perplexity Computer — an agentic system running 19 AI models in parallel to research, design, code, deploy, and manage projects end-to-end; priced at $200/month for Max users. x.com
  • Feb 2026product
    Partnered with Samsung to ship Perplexity as a system-level AI on the Galaxy S26 series with its own wake word, 'Hey Plex' — the first third-party app Samsung has granted OS-level access. x.com

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Aravind Srinivas · Co-founder & CEO
    Brief →LinkedIn
  • Denis Yarats · Co-founder & CTO
  • Andy Konwinski · Co-founder
  • Johnny Ho · Co-founder
  • Gustav Lindqvist · Co-founder
  • Dmitry Shevelenko · Employee
  • Nathan Barksdale · Employee

Sources

Other companies in United States

  • OpenAI · AI lab, San Francisco·
  • Anthropic · AI safety lab, San Francisco·
  • Stripe · Payments infrastructure, San Francisco·
  • Microsoft · Big tech, Redmond·
  • NVIDIA · AI hardware, Santa Clara·
  • Databricks · Data + AI platform, San Francisco

Frequently asked

What is Perplexity?+

Perplexity AI, an AI-powered answer engine, was founded in August 2022 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. It has grown from $100M to $500M in revenue while keeping headcount flat, and is now pushing beyond search into agentic AI with its 'Computer' product line.

Where is Perplexity headquartered?+

Perplexity is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.

When was Perplexity founded?+

Perplexity was founded in August 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Gustav Lindqvist.

What sectors does Perplexity operate in?+

Perplexity focuses on ai, saas, enterprise. They primarily operate in these sectors.

Who is the CEO of Perplexity?+

Aravind Srinivas is the CEO of Perplexity.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Perplexity?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated June 10, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →