Meet Indian-origin CTOs leading OpenAI and Anthropic without IIT degrees

Michael Young's concept of meritocracy, originally coined in 1958, warned of a new elite that would rise based on talent rather than birth. This idea has become a common compliment in India, as an offer letter from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is highly respected. The current list of 50 Executives of the Year: Tech & Data by TIME magazine includes several Indian-origin CTOs without IIT degrees.

Two of these, OpenAI's CTO of Applications Vijaye Raji and Anthropic's CTO Rahul Patil, did not study at an IIT. This lack of an IIT degree is particularly noteworthy, as IIT graduates are often seen as the cream of the crop in India's tech scene. Both Raji and Patil have impressive backgrounds, having spent over a decade working at major tech companies before their current roles at AI labs.

They both relocated to the United States as engineers and held significant positions at other tech firms before joining their current companies. Despite not having an IIT degree, these two technologists have risen to the top of their field, demonstrating that success is not solely determined by a piece of paper from an IIT.