Google vs Perplexity: Founders, CEOs and History
Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page, Sergey Brin and is led by Sundar Pichai. Perplexity was founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and is led by Aravind Srinivas.
Company facts
- Founded
- 1998
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California
- Current CEO
- Sundar Pichai
- Employees
- 190,820
Perplexity
- Founded
- 2022
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Aravind Srinivas
- Employees
- 1,300
Founders
Larry Page
Google possesses arguably the most famous, influential founding story in the history of Silicon Valley, rooted in the academic environment of Stanford University and a foundational obsession with organizing all of human knowledge.
Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin co-founded Google and played a central role in the early engineering, product, and cultural development of the company. He helped build the search technology, recruit technical talent, and preserve a culture that valued bold experiments.
Perplexity
Aravind Srinivas
Aravind Srinivas co-founded Perplexity in 2022 and has been CEO since then. Before that he was a research scientist at OpenAI, working on generative models and reinforcement learning.
Denis Yarats
Denis Yarats is Perplexity's co-founder and CTO. He leads the engineering behind its retrieval, ranking and model stack, including the Sonar models offered through the developer API.
Johnny Ho
Johnny Ho is a Perplexity co-founder who has focused on product and search quality. He has been described in company materials as Chief Strategy Officer.
Andy Konwinski
Andy Konwinski is a Perplexity co-founder and board member who brought experience scaling an enterprise data company at Databricks. He also co-founded the Laude Institute, which funds AI research.
CEOs and their tenures
- Larry Page1998–2019
Co-founder and Former CEO
Larry Page is one of the most consequential technologists of the modern era. His initial algorithmic breakthrough organized the chaotic early internet, creating the essential infrastructure for the modern digital economy.
Source - Eric Schmidt2001–2011
Former CEO and Executive Chairman
Schmidt was the indispensable bridge between a chaotic academic research project and a globally dominant, publicly traded corporation.
Source - Sundar Pichai2015–present
CEO of Alphabet and Google
Pichai provides crucial corporate stability and pragmatic product leadership, transitioning Google from its chaotic early years into a profitable, mature corporate giant.
Source
Perplexity
- Aravind Srinivas2022–present
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Has led Perplexity since founding, through its funding rounds and the launches of Comet and Computer.
Source - Denis Yarats2022–present
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Leads engineering for search, retrieval and the Sonar models.
Source
Timeline: Google and Perplexity side by side
1998Google
Google Founded
Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google after developing PageRank at Stanford University. The search engine ranked web pages by link authority, which made results feel more relevant than portal-era competitors.
2000Google
AdWords Launch
Google launched AdWords in 2000 and connected advertising to search intent. Businesses could pay to appear near relevant queries, eventually through auction-based performance advertising.
2004Google
Google IPO
Google went public in 2004 using an auction process and priced 19,605,052 shares at $85, raising about $1.67B. The IPO gave the company capital for hiring, data centers, acquisitions, and global expansion.
2005Google
Android Acquisition
Google acquired Android in 2005 to secure a role in mobile operating systems before smartphones became the main internet device. Android later gave Google global reach through manufacturers such as Samsung and many others.
2006Google
YouTube Acquisition
Google closed the YouTube acquisition in 2006 for stock valued at $1.65B. The deal gave Google a user-generated video platform, creator ecosystem, and advertising surface outside text search before online video had a mature business model.
2008Google
DoubleClick Acquisition
Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1B to expand its advertising infrastructure beyond search. The deal strengthened display advertising, ad serving, and publisher relationships. It helped Google build a broader ad-tech stack.
2014Google
DeepMind Acquisition
Google acquired DeepMind in 2014 to deepen its artificial intelligence research bench. DeepMind later became known for AlphaGo and other breakthroughs in reinforcement learning and scientific AI.
2015Google
Alphabet Restructuring
Google restructured into Alphabet Inc. In 2015, separating core Google from Other Bets. The move gave investors clearer visibility into Search, YouTube, Android, and Cloud economics while preserving room for Waymo, Verily, Calico, and X.
2019Google
Sundar Pichai Becomes Alphabet CEO
Sundar Pichai became CEO of Alphabet in 2019 after Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped back from daily operations. Pichai inherited a company facing cloud competition, antitrust scrutiny, privacy pressure, and rising AI expectations.
2022Perplexity
Perplexity founded
Incorporated August 22, 2022; launched its cited answer engine in December.
2023Google
Google DeepMind Integration
Alphabet combined major AI research efforts under Google DeepMind to accelerate frontier model development. The move followed competitive pressure from OpenAI and Microsoft.
2024Perplexity
$520M valuation with Jeff Bezos and Nvidia
January 2024 round led by IVP valued the company at $520M.
2024Perplexity
$3B then $9B valuation
June 2024 round at $3B; $500M raised at $9B in December 2024.
2025Google
FY2025 Revenue Tops $402B
Alphabet reported FY2025 revenue of $402.836B and net income of $132.170B. The milestone showed that Search ads, YouTube, Cloud, and subscriptions kept scaling despite regulatory and AI disruption concerns.
2025Perplexity
Comet launched; $20B valuation
Comet browser launched July 2025; $200M raised at $20B in September 2025.
2026Perplexity
Microsoft Azure deal and Computer launch
Three-year ~$750M Azure agreement (January) and Computer agent launch (February).
2026Perplexity
Ninth Circuit vacates Amazon injunction
August 4, 2026 ruling lets Comet's shopping agent keep operating on Amazon while the case continues.
2026Perplexity
HP preload and Crusoe compute deal
Announced September 15, 2026.
Acquisitions
- Wiz2025$32B
- Mandiant2022$5.4B
- Fitbit2021$2.1B
- DeepMind2014$500M
- DoubleClick2008$3.1B
- YouTube2006$1.6B
Perplexity
No verified acquisitions are listed.
Questions about Google vs Perplexity
Who is the CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Perplexity AI, Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. is led by Sundar Pichai and Perplexity AI, Inc. is led by Aravind Srinivas. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Alphabet Inc. founded vs Perplexity AI, Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. was founded in 1998 — 24 years before Perplexity AI, Inc., which was founded in 2022. Alphabet Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Perplexity AI, Inc..
How many employees does Alphabet Inc. have compared to Perplexity AI, Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. employs approximately 190,820 people, while Perplexity AI, Inc. employs approximately 1,300. Alphabet Inc. has the larger workforce at 190,820 employees, compared to Perplexity AI, Inc.'s 1,300. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Alphabet Inc. and Perplexity AI, Inc. headquartered?
Both Alphabet Inc. and Perplexity AI, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Alphabet Inc. and Perplexity AI, Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. was founded by Larry Page, Sergey Brin. Perplexity AI, Inc. was founded by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Andy Konwinski.
Which company has a longer operating history — Alphabet Inc. or Perplexity AI, Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. has been operating for approximately 28 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Perplexity AI, Inc. has been in operation for around 4 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Google vs Perplexity overview