PM Modi Meets Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas

Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search engine Perplexity’s cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday (December 28).

In a post on X, Srinivas said that the two discussed the potential for AI adoption in India and across the world. 

“Had the honor to meet Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. We had a great conversation about the potential for AI adoption in India and across the world. Really inspired by Modi Ji’s dedication to stay updated on the topic and his remarkable vision for the future,” the Perplexity CEO wrote. 

Responding to his post, PM Modi said, “Was great to meet you and discuss AI, its uses and its evolution. Good to see you doing great work with  @perplexity_ai. Wish you all the best for your future endeavors”. 

Srinivas also said that he “enjoyed” his time talking with “everyone” in the Prime Minister’s office. 

Founded by Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski, Perplexity launched its AI-powered search engine in December 2022. The company is backed by the likes of chipmaking giant Nvidia, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), among others. 

The meeting with PM Modi came just a week after the California-based startup reportedly closed a $500 Mn round at a staggering valuation of $9 Bn, triple compared to last fundraise. 

While not much is known about Perplexity’s India operations, Srinivas, in February 2024, told a publication that the platform had more than a million users in India. At the time, he also said that Perplexity AI was planning to collaborate with Indian startups developing large language models (LLMs), such as SarvamAI.  

Earlier in December, Srinivas also publicly said that he was open to “figuring out” an economic structure with PM Modi to offer Perplexity Pro to Indian students, faculty and researchers. 

The meeting between PM Modi and Srinivas also comes at a time when the Indian government has pulled all stops to shore up the adoption of AI in the country and foster GenAI startups. 

Earlier this year, the union cabinet approved INR 10,372 Cr IndiaAI Mission, which will look to foster the homegrown AI ecosystem, facilitate funding for emerging AI startups and spur innovation in the sector.

Earlier this month, the Centre also opened the second round of bids for its IndiaAI Mission to establish a compute capacity of up to 10,000 graphic processing units (GPUs), develop AI applications for critical sectors, and tackle challenges identified by the government. 

India is home to more than 200 GenAI startups and these startups raised more than $1.2 Bn in funding between 2020 and 2024. The homegrown GenAI market is projected to become a $17 Bn market opportunity by 2030.