Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas was the guest in the latest edition of Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath‘s podcast ‘The WTF is?’. Desi CEO of Perplexity AI spoke about a range of things in Nikhil Kamath’s podcast including his IIT days in Chennai, interest in AI and ML, internship days in Bengaluru and more. Talking about his three-week internship in Bengaluru, Perplexity CEO said that he spent the same largely in his Koramangala apartment, prioritizing work over exploring the city. Srinivas admitted that he barely ventured out during his stay in Bengaluru. “I just worked all the time. Looking back, maybe I should have explored Bangalore a bit more,” he mused. Kamath, however, reassured him that focusing on work was likely the better choice.
Reflecting on this during the podcast, the IIT-Madras graduate said that a reason behind his not venturing much was also the city’s traffic. “I remember the traffic being bad back then, and I hear it’s even worse now. So, staying in and working was probably a smart move,” he said. What stood out to him, though, was the weather: “It was awesome compared to Chennai.”
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on how his love for AI and ML started
Recalling his days in Chennai, Srinivas highlighted the academic pressure he felt growing up. “There was always this push to excel academically,” he said. His passion for machine learning sparked when he dove into a Kaggle competition. “That was my entry into AI. It wasn’t just about winning—it was about figuring out how machines learn from data.”
Work, for Srinivas, has always been a defining trait. “I worked all the time, and I’m really proud of that,” he said. When asked why he drives himself so hard, he explained, “I enjoy it. It’s not about chasing some goal to scale—it’s just what I love doing.” For him, the thrill lies in curiosity, not accolades. “I love the intellectual challenge, learning new things, staying curious.”
He recounted a memorable exchange with AI podcaster Lex Fridman, who quizzed him intensely on AI basics, neural networks, and even Google’s business model. “I thought I had it all figured out, but he really put me to the test. I live for those kinds of conversations—they’re rare,” Srinivas said.
He also emphasized the value of asking questions, no matter how basic they might seem. Quoting Confucius, he said, “You might feel foolish for a moment when you ask, but you’ll be a fool forever if you don’t. I’m all for people asking questions.”
