Perplexity
Perplexity is a search engine company that provides answers sourced from up-to-date information. Founded in 2022 and based in San Francisco, it has raised $1.5 billion in funding and employs 1,368 people. Perplexity offers a search engine that delivers answers backed by current sources, targeting users seeking reliable and timely information. The company has rapidly scaled to over 1,300 employees since its 2022 founding, supported by $1.5 billion in funding from investors including Accel and Bessemer Venture Partners. The company is led by a strong engineering function, which makes up 36% of its workforce. Leadership includes notable figures like Andrej Karpathy, and the team spans a wide range of expertise. Perplexity's talent pool is heavily sourced from top tech firms like Andersen Consulting, Meta, and Uber, with alumni frequently moving to companies such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. The median tenure is one year, reflecting a dynamic workforce. Perplexity alumni have founded 44 companies, including Vela (YC W26), Thrad, and ProductNow, showcasing a strong entrepreneurial culture.
The growth story
Perplexity grew from 3 to 1,368 employees between 2022 and 2026, raising $1.5B along the way, most recently a Series Unknown in February 2026.
About
The most powerful answer engine. Powering curiosity with answers backed by up-to-date sources. This is where knowledge begins.
Founders and leadership
The Perplexity org chart
Aravind Srinivas (Cofounder, President, CEO) leads 59 mapped leaders with 15 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 379 (+41% YoY), Education 248 (-48% YoY), Entrepreneurship 137 (-44% YoY), Operations 53 (+71% YoY), Information Technology 53 (+66% YoY), Business Development 47 (-33% YoY).
Talent flow
Most common previous employers of Perplexity staff: Andersen Consulting (24), Meta (23), Uber (21), Google (20), Amazon (19), Facebook (16). Former Perplexity employees most often moved to Microsoft (5), NVIDIA (4), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (4), OpenAI (4), Meta (4), Google (3).
Alumni worth knowing
The Perplexity mafia
44Gobhanu Sasankar Korisepati, was Growth until 2025Andrea Tortella, was Growth until 2025Tript Singh Lamba, was Perplexity Business Fellow until 2025Ashwin Satheesh, was 2025 Business Fellow until 2025
Fardeen Ansari, was Perplexity campus partner until 2025Naveen Konrajankuppam Mahavishnu, was Perplexity AI Business Fellowship until 2025
Praneeth Narisetty, was AI Business Fellow until 2025
Bruhan Kyomuhendo, was Lead Campus Strategist for Africa until 2025
Roman Baptiste, was Brand Ambassador until 2025
Esmaeil Mousavi, was AI Business Fellow until 2026
Adam Anwar, was Senior Fellow until 2025
Shubham Khare, was Perplexity AI Business Fellow until 2025
Mahesh Athalye, was Perplexity AI Fellow until 2025
Mohammed Noushir, was AI Business Fellow until 2025
Ashwarye Yadav, was Technical Product Manager until 2025
Darrick DJ Johnson MBA, was Perplexity AI Fellow until 2025
Maaz Anwar, was Perplexity Campus Partner until 2025
Pawan Madavi, was Perplexity AI Business Fellowship until 2025
Klara Hermesz, was Perplexity AI Business Fellow until 2025
Dante Emilio Grassi, was Business Fellow until 2025
Raza Haider, was Perplexity AI Business Fellowship until 2025
Praveen Kumar, was AI Business Fellow until 2025
SHREE MURUGANATHAN, was Campus partner until 2025
Akintunde Opaleye, was Business Fellow until 2025
Mohit Chilakala, was Student Affiliate Partner until 2025
Oghenerukevwe Ufuoma Idiasirue, was Perplexity Business Fellowship until 2025
Anand Ganesh Rao, was Business Fellow until 2025
Carlos L Gonzalez, was AI Business Fellow until 2025
Anjali Laddha, was Campus Ambassador until 2026
Yash Alluri, was Lead Campus Partner until 2025
Jason Singh, was Perplexity AI Business Fellowship until 2025
Brian Morgan, CEA, was Business Fellow until 2025
Julia Suzuki, was 2025 Perplexity AI Business Fellow until 2025
Rohit Singh, was Perplexity AI Business Fellow | 2025 Cohort until 2025
Ben Milshtein, was Perplexity AI Business Fellow until 2026
Srinivas Preetham Addepalli, was Campus Partner until 2026
Jesse Lindsley, was AI Business Fellow until 2025
Yash Gupta, was Campus Ambassador until 2025
Annirudh Duddala, was AI Business Fellow until 2025
Dante O. Cuales, Jr., was Perplexity AI Business Fellow until 2025
Sukhdeep Singh, was Perplexity Business Fellowship until 2025
Brijesh Patel, was Affiliate Program Partners until 2025
konishi go, was Perplexity Business Fellow until 2026
Dani Mota, was AI Business Fellow until 2025Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 73% direct, 16% search, 3% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Perplexity: Python (Programming Language) (426), Leadership (318), Artificial Intelligence (AI) (286), Public Speaking (269), Business Development (267), Product Management (263), SQL (257), Project Management (254).
Where the team actually sits
Perplexity people are concentrated in California, United States (100), San Francisco Bay Area (52), New York, United States (42), United States (31).
Search footprint
Perplexity attracts about 528,800 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $1M a month if bought through ads. It gained 81,659 ranking keywords and lost 41,516 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 4.80 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.80 / 5
- Senior management
- 4.40 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 3.90 / 5
Frequently asked
Perplexity has 1,368 employees as of September 2026.
Perplexity has raised $1.5B in total, most recently a Series Unknown round in February 2026.
Perplexity was founded in 2022 by Andy Konwinski, Denis Yarats.
Aravind Srinivas (Cofounder, President, CEO) sits at the top of Perplexity's reporting structure, with 15 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Perplexity staff are Andersen Consulting (24 people), Meta (23 people), Uber (21 people).
Former Perplexity employees most often move to Microsoft (5), NVIDIA (4), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (4).
At least 44 companies have a founder who previously worked at Perplexity, including Vela (YC W26), Thrad, ProductNow.
Perplexity attracts about 528,800 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $1M a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Perplexity staff are Python (Programming Language), Leadership, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Public Speaking, Business Development.
Perplexity staff are concentrated in California, United States (100), San Francisco Bay Area (52), New York, United States (42).
Perplexity has about 379 people in Engineering, up 41% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Perplexity has about 248 people in Education, down 48% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 530 current and 590 former Perplexity profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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