How a 19-Year-Old Indian Entrepreneur Secured $2.3 Million from ChatGPT’s Sam Altman & Others?

The world of startups and technology is filled with stories of perseverance, innovation, and sometimes, serendipity. Aryan Sharma’s journey, along with his co-founder, to creating Induced AI, is a testament to what young minds can achieve with determination and the right pitch. Their venture, which uses artificial intelligence to automate simple browser tasks, represents a leap towards the future of work where AI workers can handle mundane tasks with minimal human intervention. This model not only promises efficiency but also opens the door to reimagining the human-AI collaboration in the workplace.

At the very core of Sharma’s success story is his relentless pursuit of knowledge and connections within the tech industry. From the age of 14, he embarked on a bold initiative of cold outreaching to prominent figures in the tech world, seeking guidance and mentorship. His emails, filled with eagerness and ambition, were sent out to people who were well-positioned to provide him with the insights and advice he craved. Some of these recipients saw potential in his persistence, while others were less receptive, with a few suggesting he stop sending emails altogether. Yet, Sharma’s determination was unwavering.

This unfazed commitment led to a life-changing interaction with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. During a moment that could easily be a scene from a movie about startups, Sharma went as far as offering to serve as Altman’s secretary, a move driven by his desire to just be around one of the luminaries of the tech world and learn from him. The audacity of his pitch, coupled with the vision he carried for AI, caught Altman’s attention.

Sharma’s story reached a pivotal moment when he, along with his co-founder and friend, convinced Altman to invest millions of dollars into their startup, Induced AI. This moment was not just a success for their business but also a significant endorsement for the potential of young entrepreneurs who are passionate about technology and AI.

Induced AI stands as a beacon for teenagers and young entrepreneurs everywhere, demonstrating what’s possible when technology meets tenacity. The company’s focus on utilizing AI workers for automating browser tasks signals a shift towards more efficient workflows and highlights the innovative use of technology to enhance productivity.

Sharma’s journey from sending cold emails to securing a multimillion-dollar investment from one of the most respected figures in the tech industry is a powerful narrative of youthful ambition, resilience, and the willingness to learn from the best. It serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts worldwide, underscoring the message that age is but a number when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak, co-founders of Induced AI, embarked on a journey from saving money for trips to San Francisco to living with friends and attending events where they could rub shoulders with the likes of Sam Altman. Their quest wasn’t just to observe but to immerse themselves within the AI ecosystem, building networks and forging connections with influential figures. This relentless pursuit eventually led to Sharma’s pivotal meeting with Altman, OpenAI’s CEO.

During their encounter, Sharma boldly pitched to Altman, expressing a willingness to become his secretary as a means to learn directly from him and gain insights into OpenAI’s operations. Recognizing their determination, Altman agreed to keep in touch. As Induced AI approached its funding round, Sharma and Pathak didn’t hesitate to reach out to Altman, seeking his backing for their innovative platform.

Induced AI represents a significant leap in how browser tasks are handled, integrating an AI agent capable of executing tasks autonomously. This AI worker model promotes efficiency by automating workflows directly within a cloud-based browser, ensuring that machine performance for other tasks remains unaffected. Induced AI boasts an advanced capability to emulate human-like reasoning, enabling the AI to interact with web services autonomously, requiring human intervention only for authentication.

The platform’s unique proposition is its ability to translate instructions written in plain English into pseudo-code. This functionality is designed to automate and streamline the execution of repetitive tasks, traditionally managed by back-office personnel, through virtual AI workers. In a tweet, Sharma emphasized the ease with which users could create these virtual assistants, highlighting the platform’s potential to revolutionize task management by leveraging human-like reasoning in cloud-based workflows.

The vision and innovative approach of Induced AI have attracted the attention and support of prominent figures beyond Sam Altman. The venture has garnered backing from influential entities and individuals within the AI community, including Peak XV, Daniel Gross, and Nat Friedman through their AI grant, signifying a strong endorsement of the platform’s potential to redefine task automation.

By securing both the mentorship and the financial backing of such notable figures, Sharma and Pathak have positioned Induced AI not just as a novel solution to browser task automation, but as a testament to the power of persistence, networking, and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.