Perplexity's CEO turns to AI for investor pitches instead of building decks

In a bold departure from traditional fundraising methods, Aravind Srinivas, the co-founder and CEO of Perplexity, has embraced artificial intelligence for investor pitches, opting out of lengthy presentations altogether. During a recent interview with Berkeley Haas, Srinivas revealed that he only created a pitch deck for his company's Series A round, which raised an impressive $25.6 million in March 2023. Instead of the conventional slideshow format that highlights key aspects of a startup, Srinivas prefers writing a concise memo, inviting potential investors to engage in a Q&A session. "I just write a memo and I tell them you can do a Q&A and ask whatever you want," he explained. He emphasized that outside of internal data, investors can access a wealth of information through Perplexity, which he described as already possessing extensive knowledge. Srinivas, who launched Perplexity in 2022 after stints at Google's DeepMind and OpenAI, disclosed how he navigated the recent funding round. He hosted a Zoom webinar for a significant investor and addressed numerous questions in real-time. Following the session, he received a detailed email with further inquiries. Utilizing Perplexity's capabilities, he responded by copying the email's content into the platform and instructing it to generate answers in his voice. "I replied with the Perplexity answer link and asked if this sufficed; they responded positively and wired the funds the next day," Srinivas shared. While some founders have successfully bypassed formal presentations due to high interest from investors, this innovative approach remains relatively uncommon within Silicon Valley. For instance, workforce management startup Rippling recently raised $45 million in a Series A round without a traditional pitch deck, instead relying on an Investor Memo accompanied by comprehensive data slides to convey their value proposition. Srinivas's method could signify a new trend in fundraising, where AI tools streamline communication and enhance the efficiency of investor interactions.