Denis Yarats
About Denis Yarats
Denis Yarats is a computer scientist and a co-founder of Perplexity AI. He serves as its Chief Technology Officer. Perplexity was founded in August 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski, and it launched its search engine in December 2022. Yarats led development of the company's AI search product.
His earlier roles were Software Development Engineer at Microsoft on Bing (2011 to 2013), Staff ML Engineer at Quora (2013 to 2016), and AI Research Scientist at Facebook AI Research (2016 to 2022). He holds a PhD in artificial intelligence from New York University, completed in 2022. His research covered reinforcement learning and deep learning. He is based in San Francisco.
Profile aggregators date his angel investing to January 2024, listing it alongside his full-time work at Perplexity. These listings are not confirmed by the companies. Crunchbase shows 4 personal investments, with Floqer's pre-seed round as the latest. Tracxn lists a smaller portfolio and says he has invested in the United States and India. He has not published a fund, a thesis or a check size.
The investment on the Lounge deals desk is Floqer's $2M pre-seed round in July 2026. N49P led it, with Perplexity's F7 Fund, Tidal Venture Partners and Yarats participating. Floqer builds an AI-based customer knowledge base for go-to-market teams.
Tracxn names Athina and Supermaven as his most notable investments. Other listings also name Cognition Labs and Animation Inc.
Yarats has made no public statement on what he looks for or how much he invests. The recorded deals are AI products, including developer tools and go-to-market software. Floqer is a confirmed pre-seed deal. Tracxn classes his sectors as enterprise applications and high tech. The sources give no check size for him.
- Floqer: AI platform that combines third-party and internal data into a customer knowledge base for GTM teams; joined its $2M pre-seed round in July 2026.
- Athina: listed by Tracxn as a notable investment; year not public.
- Supermaven: listed by Tracxn and TheOrg as an angel investment; year not public.
- Cognition Labs: listed on aggregator profiles as an angel investment since 2024; not confirmed by the company.
- Animation Inc: listed on aggregator profiles as an angel investment; not confirmed by the company.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Yarats
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity_AI
- theorg.com/org/perplexity/org-chart/denis-yarats
- tracxn.com/d/people/denis-yarats/__7HpHglI4fEGYSetVpt8F8z7EVkmiG07YEIM
- crunchbase.com/person/denis-yarats
- businesswire.com/news/home/20260707780529/en/Floqer-Raises-$2-Million-
- pulse2.com/floqer-raises-2-million-pre-seed-to-expand-autonomous-custo
- profile.lessie.ai/denis-yarats
Investing activity
Denis Yarats appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Pre-seed, with a median round size of $2M. The most recent is Floqer (Pre-seed, $2M, Jul 2026).
Denis Yarats most often invests alongside Tidal Ventures, F7 Fund and N49P, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Denis Yarats
Who is Denis Yarats?
Denis Yarats is co-founder and CTO of Perplexity AI. He previously worked at Facebook AI Research, Quora and Microsoft. He also invests as an angel in AI startups.
Has Denis Yarats invested in Floqer?
Yes. He took part in Floqer's $2M pre-seed round, announced in July 2026. N49P led the round, and Perplexity's F7 Fund and Tidal Venture Partners also took part.
What check size does Denis Yarats write?
He has not stated a check size publicly. The sources do not give one, so founders should ask him directly.
What stage does Denis Yarats invest in?
His confirmed recent deal is a pre-seed round, Floqer's. He has not described a stage focus beyond the deals on record.
How can founders contact Denis Yarats?
He is on X as @denisyarats and on LinkedIn. His X bio lists him as co-founder and CTO of Perplexity.
Which AI startups has Denis Yarats backed?
Floqer is confirmed. Tracxn also lists Athina and Supermaven, and other profiles list Cognition Labs and Animation Inc. Those four are not confirmed by the companies.
Is Denis Yarats an angel investor?
Yes. Denis Yarats invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Denis Yarats invested in?
Denis Yarats's AI investments include Floqer. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Denis Yarats based?
Denis Yarats is based in New York, New York, United States.
What stage does Denis Yarats invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Denis Yarats has invested at Pre-seed, with a median round of $2M.