IIT Bombay graduate says no to Meta's ₹9.5 crore offer, chooses AI startup instead. Internet reacts

An IIT Bombay graduate's career choice has become a talking point on social media after a viral post claimed he turned down a Meta job offer worth $1 million (around ₹9.5 crore) a year to build his own artificial intelligence startup.

The story revolves around AI researcher Rishabh Agarwal, who has worked at some of the world's leading AI research organisations. While the original post praised him for rejecting a lucrative corporate offer, Agarwal later responded with a clarification that added a fresh twist to the viral claim.

What The Viral Post Claimed

The discussion began after X user Vikas Alwys shared a post outlining Agarwal's academic and professional journey.

The post read:

"Meet Rishabh Agarwal, who got AIR 33 in JEE and completed his B.Tech, Computer Science from IIT Bombay. He worked at Google Brain, DeepMind, Waymo, and when Mark Zuckerberg personally gave him a $1 million job offer (approx ₹9.5 crore), he denied it."

The thread also highlighted Agarwal's credentials in the AI industry.

"And do you know what he's doing today? Building the next-generation AI company called Periodic Labs. Many of us might not know him well, but in the AI world, he is a big deal. The reason is that he has worked at some of the most elite AI labs on the planet: Google Brain, DeepMind, Waymo, and Meta Superintelligence Labs."

It further claimed:

"In spite of that, when he was offered a ₹9.5 crore per annum job, after five months at Meta, he denied it, quit, and joined Periodic Labs as a co-founder."

The post quickly gained traction, with many users applauding Agarwal for choosing entrepreneurship over a high-paying corporate role.

Rishabh Agarwal Responds

As the post continued to circulate, Agarwal himself joined the conversation.

Without disputing the broader narrative, he corrected one key detail about the reported compensation.

“Meta's offer was an order of magnitude higher than $1 million.”

Although Agarwal did not disclose the exact amount, his response suggested that the compensation package was significantly higher than the figure mentioned in the viral post.

His comment sparked further discussion, with many users speculating about the scale of compensation being offered by major technology companies competing for AI talent.

Who Is Rishabh Agarwal?

According to the viral thread, Agarwal secured All India Rank (AIR) 33 in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) before earning a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay.

He has worked at several globally recognised AI organisations, including Google Brain, DeepMind, Waymo and Meta Superintelligence Labs.

The post states that he is now a co-founder of Periodic Labs, an AI startup focused on next-generation technologies.

Social Media Reacts

The story drew widespread reactions from entrepreneurs, engineers and AI enthusiasts.

Among those who responded was billionaire entrepreneur Nikesh Arora, who reshared the post and wrote:

"Love it!"

Other users also weighed in.

One commented:

"What's the most exciting thing you are working for high Temp super conductors ?? Curious to know."

Another wrote:

"to be fair with what you have built your secondaries are gonna be worth much more than that!"

A third user added:

"You working on great things, hope to see innovations come out of it."