Rejected by IIT Madras Computer Science, MIT: How Aravind Srinivas built Perplexity AI

Artificial intelligence-based search engine startup Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas's academic journey was a roller-coaster ride. However, he never gave up and instead used each disappointment as motivation to keep learning and moving forward.

Srinivas, 32, is now an inspiration to anyone facing rejection in competitive examinations, job applications, or other areas of life.

Srinivas, who made history by becoming India's youngest billionaire and debuted on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025, could not secure admission to the Computer Science programme at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and narrowly missed switching branches by just 0.01 CGPA. He instead joined the Electrical Engineering dual-degree programme.

Rather than allowing the setback to define his future, he continued studying machine learning and artificial intelligence independently while completing his engineering degree.

Academic setbacks continued

The challenges did not end there. Srinivas has revealed that he was initially refused admission to a machine learning course because it was believed that students from Electrical Engineering would struggle with the subject.

He later applied for a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but his application was unsuccessful. Instead of giving up, he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he focused on research in deep learning, reinforcement learning, computer vision and generative AI. During his time there, he also interned at OpenAI, Google and DeepMind.

A failed startup before Perplexity AI

Srinivas' entrepreneurial journey also began with disappointment. Even after gaining experience at OpenAI, his first startup—a Twitter search product—failed after changes to the platform's API made the business unsustainable.

In 2022, he co-founded Perplexity AI with the aim of building an AI-powered answer engine. Within a few years, the company grew into one of the most closely watched names in the global AI industry.

Who is Aravind Srinivas?

Born and raised in Chennai, Srinivas is best known as the co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI. He describes the platform as “the fastest way to get answers to any questions”.

In 2022, he co-founded Perplexity AI alongside Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski. Since its launch, the startup has attracted investment from prominent backers, including Jeff Bezos, and has reportedly drawn acquisition interest from Apple and Meta.

Despite the interest from major technology companies, Srinivas has said he intends to keep Perplexity AI independent. Earlier this year, he shared on X that the company plans to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) after 2028.