Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal rolls out new AI startup Parallel

Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has launched an AI startup Parallel Web Systems that is designed to change how AI agents interact with the web.

The company emerged from stealth mode with a cloud-based research platform with millions of queries from early adopters. It has already raised $30 million from prominent investors, including Khosla Ventures, Index Ventures, and First Round Capital.

Parallel builds infrastructure and tools specifically designed for AI agents to interact with the web intelligently. It offers a cloud-based deep research API that lets AI applications conduct real-time research on the internet, accessing and synthesising public web data, and ultimately providing detailed citations.

According to Parallel, its flagship offerings consist of eight distinct AI research engines. Each is designed for different computational needs. This allows AI agents to do complex tasks such as cross-disciplinary synthesis and long-form research. Parallel claims its technology outperforms leading AI models like OpenAI's GPT-5 in benchmarks for web research.

Web API agents power coding assistants, knowledge workers, and research automation across sectors. Enterprises also use these agents to automate complex workflows. Parallel takes on browser-based infrastructure providers as well as large-scale LLM-driven search agents like OpenAI and Google.

Parallel's public launch comes as Agrawal is fighting an ongoing legal battle with Elon Musk over $50 million in unpaid severance from his dismissal as Twitter's CEO in October 2022. This dispute came after Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform.