Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal launches AI startup, says: I’m not a person who can enjoy …

Parag Agrawal

, former CEO of Twitter, has embarked on a new chapter in his tech journey, after the public dismantling of Twitter and its transformation into X under Elon Musk. He’s now at the helm of

Parallel Web Systems

, an

AI startup

that aims to change how AI agents perform real-world tasks for humans on a computer, acting much like a digital assistant. According to a report by Bloomberg, following his unceremonious firing by Tesla CEO, his friends and former colleagues urged him to take a much-needed break from the intense Twitter saga, but Agrawal chose a different path.“I’m not a person that can enjoy the beach in that moment,” Agrawal shared, showing his immediate drive to build anew. He immersed himself in intense meetings at a

Palo Alto

coffee shop, delving into research papers, writing code and creating the startup from his laptop.Agrawal said that he received numerous job offers but most were uninspiring, asking him to “clean up shit,” as he put it. With his extensive background in building machine learning systems at Twitter, Agrawal was convinced his next venture had to be in AI.He said that just a month after his departure from Twitter, OpenAI launched

ChatGPT

, opening opportunities for artificial intelligence startups, with companies like Anthropic PBC rapidly expanding.

What Parag Agrawal’s AI startup does

Parallel Web Systems is developing infrastructure that empowers AI agents—think of them as smart tools capable of handling complex computer tasks on your behalf. The core of Parallel's innovation lies in helping these AI agents efficiently search the web for the most accurate information. This capability is often the critical difference between an AI agent successfully completing a task and failing altogether, ensuring the tools can deliver on their promise.Agrawal's new endeavor has already garnered significant attention, successfully raising $30 million in funding. Notable investors include billionaire Vinod Khosla through his firm,

Khosla Ventures

. Agrawal now leads a 25-person team from a Palo Alto office, not far from where he first incorporated the company on his laptop.“I don’t think Twitter defines me. If I do a good job, I’m hoping this company will define me,” Agrawal says of his new role. Agrawal – a former International Physics Olympiad gold medalist with a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University – steadily climbed the ranks at Twitter over more than a decade. Starting as an engineer on the advertising team, he eventually rose to become Chief Technology Officer under then-CEO Jack Dorsey. His contributions included work on core products like Twitter’s initial advertising technology and its algorithmic timeline. He was appointed Dorsey's successor in late 2021.