Anupam Mittal impressed by Bengaluru college where students graduate with startups | Viral post

A Bengaluru-based college expects its students to graduate with their own startups. And this caught Anupam Mittal, the founder of Shaadi.com and a Shark Tank India judge, by surprise. A pleasant one.

Bengaluru's Scaler School of Technology has “startup-building embedded into the curriculum,” Mittal noted during his visit to the engineering college.

In the viral Instagram Reel, Mittal is seen interacting with students, founders and builders across the campus, getting a first-hand look at the kind of AI-led work emerging from the institution.

He can also be seen learning that NeoSapien, the AI startup he backed on Shark Tank India Season 4, which is building AI-powered wearable devices, traces its roots to an innovation lab at this college.

During his visit, Mittal was also introduced to the wider builder ecosystem on campus, including teams working on humanoids and AI, as well as professionals with backgrounds spanning organisations such as ISRO, NASA, Ola and Stanford.

In the viral video, Mittal spoke with a student who said he had left prestigious tech institutions in the country, such as IIT, NIT, and IIIT, to join this college. To which the Shark Tank judge candidly replied, “Tereko darr nahi laga? Jigra lagta hai.”

Mittal also learned that most students secure placements by their third year while building startups on campus. Visibly impressed, he said, “I am gonna put my team to it, we are gonna hire from you guys.”

Reacting to the students, founders and AI builders around him, Mittal said, “If this is the next generation, I am 100% sure about India’s future.”

‘Came back optimistic about this generation’

In the caption of the viral video, Mittal said Indians spend a lot of time asking whether education is keeping up with the world, but forget the more important question: “Are young people getting close enough to real engineering problems, and getting exposure early enough?”

He said his visit to the college gave him “a lot to think about” — “There’s a different kind of confidence that comes when students are encouraged to build & break things under the guidance of senior engineers who have been there and done that.”

The Shaadi.com suggested everyone visit the Bengaluru college to “see for yourself what this generation of engineers is already building.”

“Came back optimistic about what this generation is capable of. India needs more of this,” he added.

How did netizens react?

Social media users were also impressed by the Bengaluru college and said Mittal's Reel offered another “cool” option for engineering students.

“Damnnn so cool,” a user said. “After hearing Anupam Mittal’s perspective, Scaler feels worth researching,” another added.

“If founders like Anupam Mittal are impressed with Scaler students, they must be building something meaningful,” said a user.

A user commented, “Sending this to my siblings asap so that they become the next Gen entrepreneurs.”

“It’s nice to see a Shark Tank judge talking about real engineering education instead of just placements,” another user said.

Manmeet Singh Akali, who featured in Mittal's video, commented: “Next time you visit, the robotics lab will try to attempt a Ironman suit ;) Jokes apart, was lovely hosting you on campus, left inspired!”