Leadership
AI Without the Hype: Inside Our Private Breakfast Briefing with Perplexity
June 11 2025
Singulier and Founders Future brought together leaders across digital, innovation and investment for a private breakfast with AI giant, Perplexity. The focus: how AI is truly tansforming products, organisations, and business models. Perplexity’s Dmitry Shevelenko shared a clear vision for building trust-first AI products.
June 2025 – Singulier, in partnership with Founders Future, hosted an exclusive executive breakfast in Paris which brought together senior leaders from across digital, innovation and investment to discuss the strategic impact of AI on business. The event featured Dmitry Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer at Perplexity, who offered an inside look at the company’s vision for trusted, AI-native search.
Dmitry anchored the session with a focused perspective on what it means to build AI that people actually trust and how that trust could define the next era of information, work and value creation.
Read on to get the key insights from the discussion led by Dmitry Shevelenko, Marc Menase, and Mathieu Ferel.
What does Perplexity believe is the future of AI in business?
Perplexity’s vision is centred on trust. Rather than chasing novelty or entertainment, the platform is designed to be a daily companion that provides transparent, verifiable answers in real time. As people grow more discerning about where they get information, trust becomes not just a feature, but a strategic advantage.
How could AI shift the business model of the internet?
If AI can create tangible day-to-day value, then the case for ad-funded content could be impacted. Subscription-based access to highly personalised, reliable AI tools opens the door to a different kind of digital economy, one where performance and privacy matter more than impressions and clicks.
How do you stay visible in AI-powered search engines?
Companies are asking how to be found in conversational search engines like Perplexity or Claude. The answer is straightforward: build something worth finding. AI systems are designed to elevate real utility. If users value your product or brand, it will bring recognition that drives visibility.
How will AI change hiring and entry-level jobs?
As AI agents take on more executional tasks, the value of human talent will shift toward judgment and adaptability. Younger professionals will need to build context, not just skills. Companies will seek people who can interpret, steer and refine what AI produces and not just do what AI replaces.
Should companies create a Head of AI role?
Not necessarily. Isolating AI into a standalone function risks slowing progress. AI needs to be embedded across the business. If your CIO is not thinking in AI-native terms, that is a leadership issue. Not a structural one.
What are the key takeaways from the event?
- Perplexity is built on trust and designed to become a daily AI companion.
- Subscription-based AI could reshape the web’s ad-first business model.
- Recognition and user experience will determine visibility in AI search.
- AI will shift hiring priorities from task execution to judgment and adaptability.
- AI must be embedded across organisations and should not be isolated in a single role.
The start of an exciting new partnership
This event marked the beginning of a strategic collaboration between Singulier and Perplexity. Together, we’ll help companies across Europe implement AI at scale: from internal productivity tools to customer-facing products and strategic decision-making.
We thank Dmitry Shevelenko for joining us and sharing his vision. We’re also grateful to Marc Menasé and Matthieu Benkerant of Founders Future for making the event possible, and to Carole Barkatz and the Maddyness team for their support in making this event a success.
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About Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI-native search and productivity platform that combines real-time web search, code execution, and data visualization to automate tasks like financial modeling and market analysis. With the recent launch of Perplexity Labs and a strategic partnership with Samsung, it’s rapidly emerging as a next-generation interface for both consumers and enterprises.
About Founders Future
Founders Future is a leading European investment firm backing high-potential entrepreneurs driving the next wave of innovation. With a focus on supporting ambitious startups across technology and digital sectors, Founders Future provides strategic capital and operational expertise to scale tomorrow’s market leaders. Its recent investment in Singulier, a fast-growing independent strategy consulting and digital transformation firm, underscores its commitment to building category-defining companies in Europe. Learn more here: https://foundersfuture.com/
