The Guy With Rs 100 Crore Salary Fired By Elon Musk Started His Own AI Firm—Know His Connection With India
From Top Tech Executive to Fired CEO
Who Is This Individual?
Parag Agrawal’s Rise and Fall
Parag Agrawal, who had an All India Rank (AIR) of 77 in IIT-JEE, was well-known in the tech world. His salary included Rs 8 crores plus restricted stock units worth about Rs 94 crores, bringing his total compensation to over Rs 100 crores. His leadership at Twitter garnered substantial media and social media attention.
The Reason Behind His Dismissal
According to a book by Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner, Agrawal was dismissed because he refused a request to block an account tracking Elon Musk’s private jet. This decision was made before the finalization of the Twitter acquisition. After Musk took over, he fired Agrawal and had the tracking account blocked.
What Did Parag Agrawal Do Next?
Parag Agrawal’s New Venture
Parag Agrawal has now ventured into the AI sector, securing Rs 249 crores in funding for his new startup. His company focuses on developing software for large language models, similar to the technology behind OpenAI's ChatGPT. Reports indicate that Khosla Ventures, led by Vinod Khosla, and early supporters of OpenAI are leading the investment in Agrawal's venture with Index Ventures and First Round Capital also joining the funding round.