AI search engine startup Perplexity internally mandated the use of AI coding tools — and says that its engineers have been noticeably more productive.

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told Y Combinator that the startup “made it compulsory” for its engineers to use AI coding tools such as Cursor or GitHub Copilot. These tools can generate blocks of code and debug programs.

Related: AI Is Already Writing About 30% of Code at Microsoft and Google. Here’s What It Means for Software Engineers.

Srinivas said that Perplexity engineers have seen measurable outcomes so far: Using the tools cuts down on “experimentation time” for new tasks from “three, four days to literally one hour,” he said.

“That level of change is incredible,” Srinivas stated. “The speed at which we can fix bugs and ship to production is crazy.”

Perplexity’s AI search engine reported a 20% month-over-month growth in May with 780 million queries.

^{Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

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At Bloomberg’s Tech Summit in May, Srinivas predicted that within a year, Perplexity would be handling “a billion queries a week.” He pointed out that when the AI search engine first got started in 2022, it processed 3,000 queries a day, advancing to 30 million queries a day by May.

“It’s been phenomenal growth,” Srinivas stated at the event.

Still, there “are issues,” Srinivas said about using AI coding assistants, noting that the tools can introduce new bugs that software engineers aren’t familiar with and don’t know how to fix.

Last week, Perplexity introduced Comet, an AI-powered web browser that takes on Google Search and Google Chrome. Comet uses Perplexity’s AI search engine as its default tool, putting the company’s core product front and center for users.

In May, Perplexity was reportedly in late-stage talks for a $500 million funding round that would value the company at $14 billion.

Related: ‘Building It Ourselves’: Morgan Stanley Created an AI Tool to Fix the Most Annoying Part of Coding. Here’s How It Works.

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Angie Snow was a teacher and mom of three young children when her husband suggested buying an HVAC company together. Assuming she’d be playing a background role, she agreed.

“I thought, Oh good, I can get out of the classroom, be at home. This will be a piece of cake! I just have to answer the phone and send out invoices, right? No big deal,” she says.

But what started as a small step into the trades industry quickly turned into a much bigger leap. Over the past 18 years, Snow and her husband grew Western Heating and Air Conditioning more than they ever could have imagined. Now an industry advisor, Snow also teaches business owners how to succeed with ServiceTitan, a leading home services software company.

“I thought teaching was for me, but it’s been fun as I’ve built my business and been able to help other contractors along the way,” she says. “I’ve been able to slide back into that teaching seat, just in a different role.”

Snow’s transition into the trades wasn’t always easy. As a woman stepping into a leadership role in a male-dominated industry, she struggled with impostor syndrome and finding her footing. Everything changed when she found community through Women in HVACR, an organization that promotes education, mentorship and support for women in the industry.

“I was like, ‘I found my people,'” Snow says.

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That moment sparked a deeper passion. Snow later served on the group’s advisory board for six years and got involved with groups like Women in Plumbing and Piping and National Women in Roofing. “It’s just so cool to see these organizations exist to support women, where a lot of times we just haven’t felt or seen that in the trades,” she says.

Building a place in the trades where everyone can feel seen and supported became Snow’s goal, and part of her leadership philosophy centers on creating a workplace with a strong internal culture.

“Number one, you have to work on your leadership and always evolve as a leader — connecting with your people, helping your people feel like they matter and having a vision for them to look at and to follow. The foundational work has to be in place,” she says. “They have to know that you care and you’re a company and a brand worth working for.”

One of the biggest hurdles today is attracting younger workers to the trades. Snow says it’s not just about better recruiting, but rather about changing outdated perceptions of the industry.

“Something we’re doing at ServiceTitan to change that stigma is to show how home service companies are really the heroes,” she says. “They’re the ones showing up. You will have steady work, and these people are the heroes.”

The Covid-19 pandemic helped prove that point. While other industries slowed down, essential home services stayed strong. “It brought a new light to how important the trades are and why we are so needed,” Snow says.

Related: He Started a Business and Ended Up on the Brink of Bankruptcy. He Fixed His Mistakes – and Now Teaches Entrepreneurs What He Wishes He Knew When Starting Out.

Still, employee retention and morale require more than job security. Snow recognized that many employees, especially Gen Z workers, care deeply about balance and flexibility, which are things that don’t always come naturally in a demanding industry like home services.

“That generation really values work-life balance. They value having time with their family and time off when they want it,” Snow says. “We’re a 24/7 industry, but to help them, I show that I care about them and honor that work-life balance. Because that’s what I want in my life too.”

True to her word, she reworked the team’s schedule into four-day workweeks, which resulted in more engaged workers who take pride in each job.

Technology has also been a huge part of helping Snow deliver a high-level experience. Since switching to ServiceTitan in 2018, Western Heating and Air Conditioning has seen improvements in efficiency. Snow says artificial intelligence is further transforming the game. “It is just crazy how AI can analyze and do so many things so much faster,” she says.

With AI tools, her team can automate dispatching, consolidate contacts, track sales calls and even help technicians perform better during service visits. It’s a win-win: Smarter systems empower her people to focus on serving customers.

Looking back, Snow never imagined where this journey would take her. But she hopes others, especially women and young people, realize the trades offer much more than people assume.

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“There is a path for everyone in the trades, and there is so much opportunity [and] money to be made,” she says. “It’s a very nice industry that way, and it is a service that people need. I would definitely consider finding your own unique genius in where you shine and finding a path in the trades, because it won’t let you down. You’ll be surprised.”

After nearly two decades growing a successful HVAC company and helping shape the future of the trade industry, Snow’s advice to current and future business leaders is clear:

• Lead with people in mind. Whether it’s your technicians or customers, building a business rooted in care, connection and trust sets the foundation for long-term success.
• Create an employee experience worth staying for. From flexible schedules to a culture of belonging, investing in your team elevates every part of your business.
• Embrace innovation early. Tools like AI and integrated software platforms don’t just boost efficiency — they also free your team to focus on what matters most: serving customers.
• Redefine what leadership looks like. There’s space in the trades for every kind of strength and every kind of leader.
• If there’s an open door, walk through it. The trades are full of hidden opportunities. Whether you start in the field, the office or by someone else’s side, you might be surprised where you end up.

Watch the episode above to hear directly from Angie Snow, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Tuesday.

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In a new interview, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AI is “the greatest technology equalizer” the world has ever seen — and that “100% of everybody’s jobs will be changed” as a result.

Huang told CNN‘s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that AI was an “equalizer,” meaning that it “lifts” people who aren’t well-versed in technology to be able to use it. Huang said ChatGPT, an AI chatbot with over 500 million global weekly users, was an example of how people can easily use AI with little to no formal training in interacting with it.

“Look at how many people are using ChatGPT for the very first time,” Huang told Zakaria. “And the first time you use it, you’re getting something out of it… AI empowers people; it lifts people.”

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AI results in people being able to do more with the technology than they would have without it, Huang said. He elaborated that he was “certain” that the “work that we do in our jobs” would be dramatically transformed due to AI.

Huang, who has been leading Nvidia as CEO since co-founding it in 1993, said his own work has changed because of AI.

“The work will change,” Huang said in the interview. “My job has already changed. The work that I do has changed, but I’m still doing my job.”

Huang said that “some” jobs would be lost because of AI, but “many” jobs would be created thanks to the technology. He predicted that AI would result in productivity gains across industries, lifting society as a whole.

^{Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images}

Huang’s predictions are less dire than those of Dario Amodei, the CEO of $61.5 billion AI startup Anthropic. In May, Amodei told Axios that within the next five years, AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and cause unemployment to rise to 10% to 20%. In March, he stated that AI would write “all of the code” for companies within a year.

Adam Dorr, research director at the think tank RethinkX, stated that by 2045, AI and robotics could make human jobs obsolete.

“We don’t have that long to get ready for this,” Dorr told The Guardian last week. “We know it’s going to be tumultuous.”

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