# Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas overcame IIT, MIT rejections

2026-08-07T15:14:10+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

Aravind Srinivas, 32, became India's youngest billionaire on the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 as CEO of Perplexity AI. He was rejected from IIT Madras's Computer Science programme and missed switching branches by 0.01 CGPA. He also failed to get into MIT for a PhD. Instead, he did an Electrical Engineering dual degree at IIT Madras, self-studied AI, and earned a PhD at UC Berkeley. He interned at OpenAI, Google and DeepMind. His first startup failed. In 2022 he co-founded Perplexity AI, an AI search engine backed by Jeff Bezos. The company plans an IPO after 2028.

## Coverage

- livemint.com <https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/rejected-by-iit-madras-computer-science-mit-how-aravind-srinivas-built-perplexity-ai-11786101874494.html>

Tags: AI, Aravind Srinivas, entrepreneurship, IIT Madras, MIT, Perplexity AI
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