As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and challenges established norms, Indian-American entrepreneur and AI expert Pritika Mehta offers a ray of insight and inspiration to aspiring Indian entrepreneurs still pounding away at their keyboards in corner booths in Bangalore, India.
With a Masters in Artificial Intelligence from SUNY and extensive experience in the City, San Francisco Bay Area, Mehta is a leading figure guiding and inspiring entrepreneurs in India through his dynamic social media presence.
In an interview with HindustanTimes.com, the Indian-American tech geek speaks at length about the transformative potential of GPT-4o, the changing trends in search technology, and the unparalleled opportunities that West Silicon Valley offers.
The founder of Butternut.AI shares his valuable advice for “aspiring Indian founders who want to get into AI” on leveraging networks, the importance of understanding global tech trends, and the impact AI will have on India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
For Indian founders aspiring to carve out a niche in the AI revolution and become millionaires, Mehta lays out a roadmap and code of conduct, emphasizing the importance of innovation and “building a strong team and shipping fast.”
Also see | Indian-American Entrepreneur Pritika Mehta Shares Advice for Immigrant Entrepreneurs in San Francisco
Mehta’s Roadmap for Indian Entrepreneurs
When asked, “What would you say to founders who want to pursue their dreams and land in the Bay City?”
The Chandigarh native replied, “San Francisco is almost the same size as my hometown, Chandigarh. But this little city changed the world. Almost every product people use every day was born from this special place: ChatGPT, Uber, Airbnb, Doordash, Stripe, Dropbox, Notion, and more.”
The conversations that are happening here, the innovation that’s in the air, the bold ideas and investments being made in unknown founders — you can’t find that in any other city. You drive down Sand Hill Road and you see venture capital offices. Small offices with three employees manage over $1 billion in assets. You meet doctors who invested $10,000 in unknown founders and made $100 million on that investment. Where else can you find that?
“This is where all tech trends come from. People in the Bay Area knew about Bitcoin before anyone else. Tens of thousands of people became Bitcoin millionaires simply because they heard about it from friends and bought early.”
“You can walk down the street in San Francisco and see a self-driving Waymo car and no one notices. There are startups on every corner of the city. In every coffee shop, people are talking about new technology. The level of ambition and talent here is unmatched. And that ambition is supported by funding, mentorship and networks.”
Also see | Satya Nadella talks about the ‘remarkable’ role GPT-3.5 has played in helping Indian farmers understand subsidies
Mehta continues to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs in India through social media
Mehta, who holds a Masters in Artificial Intelligence from the State University of New York, leverages social media platforms to share knowledge and inspire aspiring Indian entrepreneurs. Be it changing mindsets or securing angel investors, she is constantly sharing her valuable insights through these channels.
Talking about her social role, she briefly explained her most recent post: “A business trip to San Francisco is a rite of passage for every VC-funded founder in Bangalore.”
“There is a direct connection between Bangalore and the Bay Area. Every talented founder I know from Bangalore travels to Silicon Valley to raise funds, understand tech trends, build networks, and sell to customers,” praised the SockSoho founder.
“Many Bangalore startups have one founder in the Bay Area who handles sales and fundraising, while the other founder and team are in Bangalore. America is the largest software market in the world, and the smartest Bangalore founders know (and take advantage of) that. You’d be surprised to learn that all Bangalore founders have B1 visas, and many of them are in the process of applying for O1/L1/EB1. It’s the norm now.”
“Indian founders have unparalleled access to Silicon Valley, mainly because so many Indians work here,” Mehta said.
Also see | Meet Prafulla Dhaliwal: Pune boy praised by OpenAI’s Sam Altman for his role in GPT-4o
The Indian-American AI expert concluded while answering the question, “Will this lead to job losses or will it lead to increased efficiency in the world?”
She said: “AI will cause short-term pain but long-term gains. No one delivers the mail on horseback anymore. Luxury vehicles do that. Repetitive jobs are disappearing, but at the same time new jobs are being created. Jobs will not disappear, but the elimination of boring jobs will be a positive for humanity.”
