IIT graduate Parag Agarwal gained global attention when he was appointed as the CEO of Twitter, shortly before the platform was acquired by Elon Musk in a monumental $44 billion deal. Agarwal, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, was initially hired with a compensation package exceeding Rs 100 crore, including a base salary of around Rs 8 crore and restricted stock units valued at approximately Rs 94 crore. Unfortunately, his tenure as CEO was cut short, and he was dismissed within a year.
Agarwal's career began after graduating from IIT Bombay in 2005. He had secured an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 77 in IIT-JEE. He went on to pursue a PhD in computer science at Stanford University. Before joining Twitter in 2011, Agarwal completed internships at Microsoft Research and Yahoo. After six years at Twitter, he was promoted to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) following the departure of Adam Messinger.
Although Parag Agarwal was reportedly entitled to a severance package worth around Rs 400 crore, he did not receive it. As a result, Agarwal, along with other former Twitter executives, has sued Elon Musk for allegedly withholding over Rs 1,000 crore in severance payments.
Currently, Parag Agarwal is venturing into the AI sector and has already secured significant funding of Rs 249 crore for his new initiatives. Born into a well-educated family in Ajmer, his father was a senior official in the Indian Department of Atomic Energy, and his mother is a retired professor of Economics. Agarwal’s journey from IIT Bombay to Silicon Valley and now to the forefront of AI development showcases his resilience and commitment to innovation.
