Perplexity plans IPO in 2028 regardless of what happens to Anthropic or OpenAI, CEO tells CNBC

Perplexity has set its sights on a public offering in 2028, a plan that remains steadfast irrespective of the market responses to the upcoming IPOs from competitors Anthropic and OpenAI, according to CEO Aravind Srinivas in a recent interview with CNBC. Srinivas reiterated that the company had already charted its course for 2028, emphasizing, "Agnostic of these two companies, we were planning for something in 2028 so that still remains the case." His remarks indicate a more defined timeline, as he previously stated that Perplexity would not pursue going public before 2028. These comments follow Anthropic's confidential filing for an initial public offering, which has generated considerable attention given the company's last valuation nearing $1 trillion. OpenAI is also reportedly in the process of preparing for its own IPO, setting the stage for what could be one of the most significant series of public listings in recent history, alongside SpaceX's IPO this week. Srinivas acknowledged the potential impact these IPOs could have on the market, stating, "I certainly think there will be ripple effects if they don't go well, like there is no sugar coating on that." He noted that the upcoming SpaceX IPO will likely serve as a bellwether for the performance of Anthropic and OpenAI. He expressed optimism about the future of these IPOs, saying, "I think it's important for the AI industry that these IPOs go well, and I actually think they will go well, because they're doing well." As the valuations of both Anthropic and OpenAI come under investor scrutiny, Srinivas defended their high market valuations, suggesting they are justified because they operate at the cutting edge of AI technology. However, he cautioned that a slowdown in innovation could negatively impact their valuations, although he noted that no such signs are currently present. "If for six months you don't see a model capability advance from one of these two companies, then it's a problem for them," he explained. The focus on enterprise spending in AI has intensified, particularly after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the significant costs associated with AI in a recent live stream. Emerging trends like "tokenmaxxing"—where employees increase their AI usage to demonstrate productivity—have also been noted. Yet, Srinivas remarked, "But people don't want to just tokenmax, they really want to use whatever model is the best for that particular task." Perplexity's approach leverages a variety of models to ensure efficiency; its AI system selects the most suitable model for a specific task while considering cost. Srinivas elaborated, "If there is an open-source model that gets the job done 90% of the time, I'd probably use that if it's 10 to 20 times cheaper than the frontier model." He concluded by highlighting a balanced view of future spending in the realm of frontier intelligence, emphasizing that it will not be characterized by reckless expenditures as seen in previous months.