New Delhi: Giga, an AI-driven support automation startup founded by two IIT Kharagpur graduates, is creating waves after securing 61 million dollars in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures. But what’s catching even more attention is the story behind it. A resurfaced LinkedIn post by co-founder Varun Vummadi reveals how both founders turned down lucrative job offers and academic opportunities to chase their dream of building something of their own and an idea that has now grown into a headline-creating startup.
Left Lucrative Offers Behind to Build Their Own Path
An old LinkedIn post by co-founder Varun Vummadi has resurfaced, revealing just how large the leap of faith was for the duo. Vummadi shared that he had been offered both a PhD position at Stanford University and a 525,000 dollars-per-year role as a quant trader at a global high-frequency trading firm.
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His co-founder, Esha Manideep, who graduated third in her computer science batch at IIT Kharagpur, also had a 150,000 dollars job offer from a leading Indian HFT company. Yet, both decided to turn down these high-paying opportunities to chase their vision and build something of their own.
Despite having such impressive opportunities in hand, both of them chose to take the road less traveled. They decided to create something meaningful in the AI space and went on to build Giga — a platform that builds it simpler for companies to utilize Large Language Models (LLMs) for fine-tuning and running applications. In simple terms, Giga supports build advanced AI tools more efficient, practical, and accessible for real-world utilize.
Meet the Minds Behind Giga
Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, both IIT Kharagpur graduates, have gained significant recognition for their work—earning a spot on the Forbes “30 Under 30 Asia” list in 2024. At Giga, Varun leads as the CEO, while Esha drives the tech vision as the co-founder and CTO.
Announcing their latest milestone, Varun shared on social media that Giga has raised $61 million in Series A funding to support automate customer operations. He also highlighted that major global companies like DoorDash are already applying Giga’s AI to enhance customer experience.
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