Janvi Arora
Now meet Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, and Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, in Paris – a cause of several heated acquisition speculations
February 12th, 2025
On Tuesday, the world of artificial intelligence and search technology were all abuzz when Google CEO Sundar Pichai met Perplexity AI co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas in Paris. Almost instantly, social media seemed to explode from comments about the meeting between these two high-profile Indian-origin tech leaders and its implications for the future of AI search.
The two met in Paris primarily for the AI Action Summit, a summit co-chaired by Modi and French president Emmanuel Macron. The summit brought together some of the most powerful influencers in the development and regulation of AI, and served as a platform for deliberations on the rapidly changing landscape of artificial intelligence.
The Viral Photograph: A Meeting of AI Titans
Aravind Srinivas, CEO and co-founder Perplexity AI, shared a photograph on X (formerly Twitter) with Sundar Pichai that went instantly viral. It is believed to have two top leaders in formal attire- Pichai wearing a blue necktie and Srinivas wearing a red necktie. Srinivas only captioned it, “Great meeting you, Sundar Pichai.”
Great meeting you @sundarpichai pic.twitter.com/Z0yzYhsHgd
— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) February 11, 2025
In hours, the post was nearing half a million views and triggered an avalanche of commentaries by social media users. No hardcore tech enthusiast would miss out on catching this important meeting, whereby many speculate whether Google has its sights on Perplexity for a potential buyout.
Common Roots: Chennai’s Influence in the Tech World
Most important of the topics discussed is the meeting ground of both Pichai and Srinivas.
Sundar Pichai was born in Madurai and spent most of his early life in Chennai before getting his engineering degree from one of the most prestigious institutes of India, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. On the other hand, Aravind Srinivas was born in Chennai over two decades later and pursued studies at IIT Madras before stepping into the domain of artificial intelligence and development that would lead to search engines.
Social media users celebrated this moment as a big hit for the Indian tech community, given their common roots in Tamil Nadu and the same educational background.
Many took to X to share witty takes on this meeting:
“Chennai boys ruling the AI world,” wrote the user emphasizing the duo’s presence in the global technology circuit.
Another user added a clever pun: “ChennAI Express,” referencing both their hometown and their work in artificial intelligence.
“Just two people from Chennai dominating search for the entire world,” remarked another tech enthusiast.
Speculations on Google Acquiring Perplexity AI
Though this meeting was notable, several users were busy exciting their imagination over whether Google would in fact have ulterior motives with the meeting-the tech giant considering the possibility of acquiring Perplexity AI.
In recent months, Perplexity AI has risen to the status of AI-powered search engine competing quite directly with Google Search. Unlike the usual search engines, Perplexity AI does not give a collection of website links, but direct, AI-generated answers, which means that it can process natural language queries and instantly provide short, contextual responses. The above features make it a vigorous contender in AI search.
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Several users asked what all this competitive jibe meant:
“Does he know you’re his competitor?” was one that joked about the case, perhaps hinting that Google ought to be on guard regarding the increasing influence of Perplexity AI.
Another user quoted one famous line: “Real-life version of ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'”
“Moments of power shift in tech,” a commenter wrote, adding that Perplexity AI has the ability to shake Google from its many years of holding the paramount position in search.
Since then, it was salivating speculations but neither Pichai nor Srinivas gave any comments about their meeting. Considering the history of Google, which has pursued acquisition of promising startups such as DeepMind in AI and YouTube in video search, it could be one of those cases for future efforts.
A Battle Increasingly Associated with AI Search
The emergence of Perplexity AI marked a significant attack on the traditional AI search landscape. AI search engines portending an intuitive and conversational search experience are increasingly coming into being, creating a new realm of competition to Google, which has secure and maintain parental status in the Internet search domain for quite some time.
Google itself has integrated AI into its core search engine, with generative features such as Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Bard AI. However, the emergence of independent players like Perplexity AI demonstrates there is evidently a demand for alternatives to Google’s traditional search model.
Conclusion: A Spice of Strategic Meeting or a Chuckling Chat?
While what happened in the meeting between Pichai and Srinivas is not known, for sure it has attracted a lot of discussion in the tech domain. Whether it was a casual interaction at a big AI event or the beginning of strategic talks, the way the situation looks, one thing can be said: The evolution of AI-applied search is rapidly changing.
As the rise of Perplexity AI continues with Google Search, witnesses in the tech and industrial circuit will be looking for any signs of collaboration, competition, or buying out. Whatever the result, that meeting anticipates the dawn of a new era for AI searches, with Chennai-born leaders helping delineate the path for many more along its way.
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NI Bureau
