Johnny Ho, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Perplexity, joins Lightspeed Partner and host Michael Mignano for this week’s episode of Generative Now. Perplexity is the AI powered search engine that is rapidly growing and challenging the industry status quo. Johnny and Michael talk about his background as a competitive programmer, the business model of search, and Perplexity’s Publisher Program, where publishers earn a share of advertising revenue.

Johnny has been ranked number one in the world of competitive programming. He previously worked at Quora as a software engineer –  he accomplished all of this before graduating from Harvard. 

Episode Chapters

(00:00) Introduction

(00:40) Johnny Ho's Engineering Background and IOI Achievements

(02:44) Transition to Product Strategy

(05:39) Perplexity: The Answer Engine

(11:06) Technology Behind Perplexity

(15:47) Challenges and Future of AI Models

(19:41) Growth and Distribution Strategy

(23:54) Setting and Achieving Team Goals

(25:35) Perplexity's Business Model and Future Plans

(31:01) Challenges and Opportunities in AI and Search

(32:55) Publisher Program and Content Credibility

(39:59) Voice and Multimodal Experiences

(42:04) What's Next for Perplexity?

(43:12) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: generativenow@lsvp.com

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.