Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity, has weighed in on an ongoing debate about whether Google’s ecosystem of products can be disrupted.
The Indian-origin AI startup founder has said that while it is possible to challenge Google’s dominance in some areas, there are certain products that are deeply entrenched and near-impossible to compete with.
“YouTube and Maps are the hardest. Maybe even impossible. The rest are hard but doable,” Srinivas said in a post on X. His remarks were in response to a user on X who posted a screenshot of various Google apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Drive, Photos, Calendar, Chrome, Meet, and Google TV with the caption: there is no way any start-up can beat the Google ecosystem.
Another user commented that YouTube and Google Maps are hard to challenge because they are “not product”, they are “networks”, to which Srinivas replied “Accurate”.
It is true that YouTube and Maps have structural moats that make it hard for new players to compete. For instance, YouTube’s strength comes from its vast supply of user-generated content and creator networks in addition to its recommendation systems and retention loops. Google Maps, on the other hand, has been able to continuously improve by ingesting vast amounts of geospatial datasets refined through user-driven corrections, carrier signals, business listings, etc. So, building a YouTube or Maps alternative from scratch might require massive capital and innovation.
However, this has not stopped upstarts like Perplexity from challenging the tech giant’s dominance, specifically in the AI search engine and browser markets. “Internet is too important to be left in Google’s hands,” Srinivas wrote in a separate post on X.
His comments come amid a renewed push by the Indian government to promote the adoption of ‘Swadeshi’ or ‘Made-in-India’ alternatives to Western platforms in the backdrop of rising trade tensions between India and the United States. This Swadeshi campaign has led to a surge in popularity of apps developed by homegrown tech companies such as Zoho and MapmyIndia.
For instance, Google is currently facing growing competition from Mappls by MapmyIndia. While it may not be as detailed as Google’s navigation service, Mappls has several unique features that look to address navigation challenges unique to the country.
Reacting to Srinivas’ post, the official MapmyIndia handle on X posted: “He is so correct but we’d like to let him know that @mappls @MapmyIndia has been building maps since 1995, down to house-number-level detail — something even global tech giants haven’t easily replicated.”
“Like we’ve proudly partnered with @Zoho, we’d love to partner with @perplexity_ai too,” the Indian digital mapping firm wrote.
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