Lucknow engineer earning Rs 2.5 crore recalls academic setbacks and drop year
Tejesh Vaish, an AI engineer at Dubai-based Lumian.ai, credits his success to his time at IIT Kanpur and a dedicated drop year.
Tejesh Vaish, a 26-year-old AI engineer from Lucknow, currently leads AI engineering at Dubai-based Lumian.ai and earns Rs 2.5 crore annually, according to India Today.
Vaish, who grew up in a household where his father ran a small sweet shop, previously faced academic challenges, including scoring 48 per cent in Class 5.
After Class 12, he took a drop year to prepare for engineering entrance exams, studying for nearly 12 hours daily after six hours of coaching.
He secured the ninth rank in the Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination (UPSEE) 2019, which earned him admission to the Computer Science programme at IIT Kanpur.
During his time at IIT Kanpur, Vaish received the PD Murti Scholarship and earned approximately Rs 10 lakh through internships and freelance work.
He graduated in 2023 with a CPI of 9.14 and has since worked at Abacus.AI and Simbian before his current role at Lumian.ai.