Parag Agrawal, once shown the exit door by Elon Musk at Twitter, is back in the spotlight with a powerful new venture in artificial intelligence.
Table of Contents
From Twitter to Tech Reinvention
Back in 2022, when Elon Musk took over Twitter in a $44 billion deal, Parag Agrawal lost his position as CEO. After stepping away from the public eye for a while, the Indian-origin tech leader has returned with a bold new plan—Parallel Web Systems Inc. The Palo Alto-based startup is focused on creating AI infrastructure tools that can power the next generation of artificial intelligence.
A ₹260 Crore Funding Boost
Founded in 2023, Parallel has already gained strong backing from Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms. The company raised $30 million (about ₹260 crore) from investors like Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures.
The main goal? To help AI companies access real-time, high-quality web data for research—a critical need as artificial intelligence expands rapidly across industries.
What Parallel Does Differently
Unlike many AI firms focusing only on models, Parallel is building the digital backbone for AI research.
Its platform allows AI tools to search, collect, and organise web information on a massive scale.
Companies are already using Parallel’s systems to automate tasks once handled by humans, often with results that are more accurate than manual work.
This technology is especially important for chatbots, virtual assistants, and enterprise AI, which rely on live web data rather than outdated training sets.
Agrawal’s New Role in the AI Race
Parag Agrawal began his journey at Twitter as an engineer and rose to the top as CEO in 2021. His exit in 2022 was abrupt, but his new venture marks a strategic comeback. Instead of running a social media giant, he is now building tools that could become the foundation for future AI applications.
Of course, the competition is intense. Parallel will face rivals offering retrieval APIs and big AI developers building similar tools. But with early traction, deep technical expertise, and strong investor trust, Agrawal’s Parallel is seen as one of the most promising AI startups to watch in 2025.
