Meet man, who studied at IIT Bombay, got Rs 100 crore salary job, was fired within a year by…, he is now…

Reports reveal that he has now raised major funding for his AI startup, which is focused on developing large language model software, similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Many IIT graduates have reached top positions in leading tech companies. One such individual is Parag Agrawal, who gained recognition as the CEO of Twitter (now X). An IIT Bombay graduate, he was appointed as Twitter’s CEO with a a direct salary of around Rs 8 crore with the added bonus of restricted stock units equating almost Rs 94 crore. Altogether, the IIT Bombay graduate’s remuneration package went over Rs 100 crore. However, his time as CEO was short-lived after Elon Musk acquired Twitter in a USD 44 billion deal in late 2022.

Agrawal was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan. His father worked as a senior official in India’s Department of Atomic Energy, while his mother was an economics professor before retirement. A bright student, he completed his engineering degree from IIT Bombay in 2005, securing an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 77. He then pursued a PhD in computer science at Stanford University, where he built a strong background in technology.

Before joining Twitter in 2011, Agrawal interned at Microsoft Research and Yahoo. Over the years, he climbed the corporate ladder, becoming Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in 2017. His contributions significantly influenced Twitter’s technical strategy and AI advancements. He also became the youngest CEO to lead a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 company.

Although his time at Twitter ended unexpectedly, Agrawal remains active in the tech industry. Reports reveal that he has now raised major funding for his AI startup, which is focused on developing large language model software, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The startup has secured investments from leading firms such as Khosla Ventures, Index Ventures, and First Round Capital.