Exa, an AI search infrastructure startup backed by Nvidia, is launching a Singapore office and seeking to hire up to ten engineers in the Asia-Pacific region. The company, valued at $700 million, is specifically looking for "rebellious" professionals who challenge conventional approaches to building search systems for artificial intelligence.
Chief Executive Officer Will Byrk told Business Insider that the expansion is part of a global hiring push across San Francisco and Zurich. He stated that the new Singapore base will function as critical "massive scale infrastructure," handling data pipelines and web crawling to process internet-wide information for AI applications.
Hiring for Character and 'First Principles' Thinking
In an exclusive interview, Byrk outlined an unconventional hiring philosophy. "Someone who doesn't care about the status quo, how things were done in the past, can think from first principles about everything — that's really important," he said. He emphasised that passion for building search or large-scale systems is more critical than traditional experience.
To evaluate this character fit, Exa flies shortlisted candidates to its San Francisco headquarters for one-to-two-day working trials. "You really get to know a person," Byrk explained, noting the process allows the team to assess a candidate's output on real projects and interact with them socially.
Redefining Search for the AI Era
The hiring drive is fuelled by a conviction that AI will fundamentally transform search. Byrk predicts that "the number of searches from AIs are going to exceed the number of humans," necessitating a complete re-engineering of current systems. He argues that because humans and AI behave differently, existing search models are inadequate.
The company, which serves thousands of customers including the AI startup Cursor, relies heavily on AI in its own operations. Byrk revealed that most of Exa's code is written by AI tools, and he expects the best engineers to utilise such technology effectively and move quickly.
Strategic Growth and Market Position
Founded in 2021, Exa secured $85 million in a Series B funding round led by Benchmark in September 2024. Other investors include Lightspeed, Y Combinator, and Nvidia's venture capital arm, NVentures. The Singapore office marks a strategic entry into a region Byrk praised for its engineering talent. "People are really smart, and they have a lot of hustle," he said.
With approximately 80 employees worldwide, the company's continued growth is anchored in its mission to rebuild internet search infrastructure specifically for AI applications, a market it believes is on the cusp of exponential growth.