Indian Engineer Regrets Rejecting Perplexity AI Job Offer, Calls It His Biggest Financial Mistake
Indian Engineer Regrets Rejecting Perplexity AI Offer in 2022, Calls It His ‘Worst Financial Decision Ever’
Tech professionals on social media are sharing their biggest career regrets, especially about missing opportunities with startups that later became industry giants. One such story has gained traction—an Indian engineer, Aditya Baradwaj, revealed that turning down a founding engineer role at Perplexity AI in 2022 was his “worst financial decision ever.”
A Missed Opportunity with Perplexity AI
Baradwaj shared his experience in response to another techie’s regretful post about declining a promising job offer. He revealed that in July 2022, Aravind Srinivas, the founder of Perplexity AI, reached out to him with an offer to join as a founding engineer.
A screenshot of the message from Srinivas showed an invitation for a discussion:
“Hey Aditya – been a long time – would you like to catch up some time? I am starting a company building LMs for businesses and would like to talk to you about it for a founding engineer.”
While Baradwaj initially responded positively and scheduled a meeting, he ultimately decided against joining Perplexity AI. Instead, he chose to stay with Alameda Research and FTX, the crypto empire led by Sam Bankman-Fried. This decision, in hindsight, turned out to be disastrous as FTX collapsed in late 2022, wiping out billions in investor funds and leaving employees in turmoil.
Biggest Financial Regret
Looking back, Baradwaj admitted his mistake, saying:
“I’ve got you beat for worst financial decision. (I said no because of how well things were going at Alameda Research/FTX).”
Perplexity AI, on the other hand, has grown into a successful artificial intelligence company, pioneering advancements in AI-driven search. Baradwaj acknowledged the startup’s success, stating, “Kudos to Aravind Srinivas and team though, Perplexity is a great product.”
‘e/acc vs Effective Altruism’ Debate
In response to Baradwaj’s post, Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas shared it with a simple message: “e/acc vs effective altruism.” This statement alludes to the contrast between two philosophical approaches—effective accelerationism (e/acc), which supports rapid technological advancement, and effective altruism, which emphasizes using evidence-based methods to maximize social good.
Baradwaj agreed with this viewpoint, adding, “Yup, this is why e/acc will win.”
Lessons from the Tech World
Baradwaj’s story is a cautionary tale for tech professionals, illustrating how career decisions can have long-term financial and professional implications. With Perplexity AI’s meteoric rise and FTX’s dramatic downfall, his regret serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of the tech and startup ecosystem.
As the AI revolution continues to shape the industry, stories like these highlight the importance of foresight, adaptability, and seizing the right opportunities at the right time.
