IIT graduate ditches high-paying finance job for AI startup, shares framework behind his choice: ‘AI is a racing track full of curves'
Published on: Oct. 2, 2025, 11:42 p.m. | Source: The Economic Times
Varun Goyal, a 25-year-old IIT Kanpur graduate, left a high-paying quantitative trading role to join a California-based AI startup, citing the collaborative and dynamic nature of AI work. Unlike quant trading, which he found restrictive and highly specialised, AI offered broader learning opportunities, exposure to leadership, product strategy, and customer interactions. Despite longer hours and lower pay, Goyal values the growth, unpredictability, and long-term career flexibility that the AI sector provides, seeing it as a foundation for future innovation.
