Ryan Foutty (Perplexity): The New Era of Search | PodKast #236

In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Foutty, VP of Business at Perplexity, to explore how AI is revolutionizing search. Ryan’s career has taken him from Uber to Lime, OpenSea, and now Perplexity, where he’s once again at the forefront of a major technological shift. He shares how Perplexity is moving beyond traditional search engines—delivering direct, sourced, and real-time answers to users worldwide. With $900 million in recent funding and 20 million daily searches, Perplexity is scaling fast. Ryan breaks down the challenges of distribution, user adoption, and global partnerships, including its strategic alliances with major telcos like Telefónica. We also dive into Perplexity’s unique business model, its rising enterprise adoption, and its next evolution: transitioning from an answer engine to an action engine—enabling users to not just find information, but also complete tasks like shopping, booking travel, and more. If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or simply curious about the future of AI, this episode is packed with insights on building, scaling, and staying ahead of the curve in one of the most transformative fields today. 00:00 Introduction02:00 Welcoming Ryan04:23 Perplexity’s mission and $900M fundraising05:54 Ryan’s background: Sports to startups08:07 First startup experience at Fresh10:30 Joining Uber and early challenges12:53  Transition to Lime and OpenSea16:25 Entering Perplexity and AI search innovation20:58 How Perplexity AI search works23:41 Real-time information & accuracy26:25 Perplexity’s business model: Pro & API29:08 B2B vs B2C strategy31:52 Partnerships with telecom companies35:17 Growth strategies and hiring approach38:42 Perplexity Pro features and expansion42:05 Speed & execution in startup culture45:29 AI search, trust & source verification48:57 Perplexity’s competition & future52:21 AI-powered personalized recom