During a recent podcast, Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, an AI chatbot-powered search engine, discussed how Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos' management style has impacted his approach to running the company.
What Happened: Srinivas, in a conversation with Lex Fridman on the Lex Fridman Podcast, credited Bezos for inspiring him to start Perplexity. He emphasized Bezos' management style and customer-centric approach as key factors in the company's growth.
When asked about entrepreneurs who influenced him, Srinivas said, "One thing I've done is take parts from every person. And so, it'll almost be like an ensemble algorithm over them. So I'd probably keep the answer short and say each person what I took. With Bezos, I think it's the forcing to have real clarity of thought."
"And I don't really try to write a lot of documents. There's... when you're a startup, you have to do more in actions and documents, but at least try to write some strategy document once in a while just for the purpose of you gaining clarity, not to have the document shared around and feel like you did some work."
Srinivas also pointed out Bezos' operational excellence and customer obsession as key drivers of Amazon's success.
Why It Matters: Perplexity, a company that is trying to leverage the power of AI to take on Google Search, has been making waves in the tech industry. The company, backed by Bezos and Jensen Huang's Nvidia Corp., has been critical of Google's ad-heavy model, citing decreasing engagement and a growing desire for more direct, user-centric search experiences.
Perplexity's approach has also attracted significant investment, with the company securing a new funding round in April, doubling its valuation and earning the status of a unicorn. The company's vision to revolutionize the search engine industry, driven by its fascination with search and the potential of Generative AI in the software space, has been a key factor in its success.
Moreover, Srinivas' meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in April sparked speculation about potential collaboration between the two companies, further highlighting Perplexity's growing influence in the tech industry.
Bezos himself discussed his unconventional approach to productivity on Fridman's podcast in December, which includes allowing his mind to wander during meetings.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote