Aravind Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI, has joined Astra as an angel investor, furthering his commitment to advancing AI-driven innovations. Founded in 2023 by IIT alumni Supreet Hegde and Ranjan Rajagopalan, Astra is transforming sales workflows with its AI Sales Agent, aiming to replace traditional SaaS tools with intelligent automation.
Astra focuses on accuracy and human-level performance, automating non-customer-facing sales tasks and providing real-time nudges to enhance execution. The goal? To double active sales opportunities and significantly boost win rates.
Hegde emphasized Srinivas’s impact, stating, “From day one, Aravind advised us to be an AI company first and build world-class AI products.”
Srinivas, known for his strategic AI investments, has also backed ElevenLabs and Pika. His latest move aligns with his vision to support Indian-led AI startups, having pledged $1 million in investments and mentorship.
Meanwhile, Perplexity AI is expanding its portfolio, recently announcing Comet, an agentic web browser designed for a seamless, AI-powered experience.