{"id":4093,"date":"2026-08-05T13:03:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T13:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/how-an-indian-engineer-built-an-ai-career-in-silicon-valley\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T13:03:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T13:03:49","slug":"how-an-indian-engineer-built-an-ai-career-in-silicon-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/how-an-indian-engineer-built-an-ai-career-in-silicon-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"How an Indian engineer built an AI career in Silicon Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rakesh Utekar went from exploring computers in Indian cyber caf\u00e9s to building and testing AI startups in Silicon Valley at AI Fund. Source: Rakesh Utekar<\/figcaption>

ForRakesh Utekar, the person who had the biggest influence on his AI career was someone he had never even met in person \u2013 Andrew Ng, managing general partner at AI Fund<\/p>\n

Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in AI, Ng has helped millions of people worldwide enter the field through his online course<\/a>s<\/p>\n

Years later, Utekar is now working alongside him<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually learned machine learning from him back in India through Coursera,\u201d he says. \u201cWorking with him and at AI Fund was like a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

A casual trip to San Francisco turned into a turning point for his tech career<\/p>\n

It started long before Coursera<\/b><\/h2>\n

Growing up in India, using a computer often meant going to local cyber caf\u00e9s \u2013 think shops where you can rent a computer to play games and browse the internet by the hour<\/p>\n

He went with friends, but his attention rarely left the machines. Each visit pulled him deeper into understanding how computers worked and what they were capable of<\/p>\n

When his parents bought him a laptop, he spent even more time experimenting with computers.He became obsessed with them<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, I\u2019ve always wanted to do something in tech,\u201d he says<\/p>\n

Soon, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai, and it was there that he came across Ng\u2019s Coursera course. By the time he graduated, he was already building<\/p>\n

Utekar says showing up at the right place at the right time opened unexpected doors in his AI career<\/p>\n

After graduation, he joined Stash RTC as a machine learning intern, his first taste of applying what he\u2019d learned in the real world. \u201cI worked on chatbots, text-to-speech models, and speech-to-text models,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That experience pushed Utekar to set his sights on a master\u2019s degree in the US, applying to several universities with a focus on machine learning<\/p>\n

But one stood out<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the universities I considered, Stevens was the only one that offered a master\u2019s specifically in machine learning, but I applied a little late and didn\u2019t get in,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI got accepted to Seattle University for a Master of Computer Science with a specialisation in data science, which was perfect for me. At the time, none of the other universities I was considering offered computer science and data science together.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Seattle University, he threw himself into the programme \u2013 tackling rigorous coursework and hands-on projects that sharpened both his technical skills and analytical thinking. It gave him the structure to approach complex problems with more clarity and confidence<\/p>\n

Utekar graduated in 2024 from Seattle University with a Master of Computer Science, specialising in Data Science<\/p>\n

When showing up changed everything<\/b><\/h2>\n

Utekar graduated in June 2024 and walked straight into a tough job market. Roles were scarce and competition was fierce<\/p>\n

He spent weeks applying and waiting. Nothing clicked<\/p>\n

Then he took a trip to San Francisco. The visit was meant to be relaxed, a change of pace but while there, he stumbled upon a local startup event featuring short pitches, during which founders stood to introduce themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On impulse, he decided to pitch himself. He talked about his background, his interest in AI, and the projects he\u2019d been building<\/p>\n

He packed and moved from Seattle to San Francisco, committing fully to both<\/em> roles. He lived in a hacker house \u2013 shared accommodation for founders and builders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA hacker house is where a bunch of founders and startup people live in one apartment, hack, code, and build startups together,\u201d he says. \u201cI was building projects with a lot of people \u2013 it was really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since both internships were unpaid, Utekar started looking for something more financially sustainable<\/p>\n

And that included messaging Allen Wang, the CEO of Ditto AI, on LinkedIn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI introduced myself and mentioned my experience working at startups and the projects I had built,\u201d he says. \u201cHe connected me with the co-founder, Eric Liu, and I got onboarded. It was very seamless and amazing, and that\u2019s how I started working at Ditto AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Ditto AI, Utekar joined as an AI engineer working on student matchmaking \u2013 think dating apps but for academic connections<\/p>\n

His job was to automate matching and reduce manual work, simplifying workflows and keeping things running efficiently<\/p>\n

Utekar considers it a major milestone to now work alongside Andrew Ng, the same person he once learned machine learning from<\/p>\n

Early career moves that lead to big opportunities<\/b><\/h2>\n

As much as Utekar enjoyed his time at Ditto AI, he was looking for something more<\/p>\n

He was interviewing for full-time roles while building a startup on the side when AI Fund came calling. The firm builds startups from scratch, exactly the kind of work he\u2019d been drawn to throughout his career<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same firm where Ng, the man behind the online course that started it all for Utekar years ago, is a managing partner at<\/p>\n

\u201cI interviewed at AI Fund and got a full-time offer,\u201d he says. \u201cEventually, Ditto AI and one other company also offered me a full-time role, but my decision was easy. I wanted to join AI Fund.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his current role as a technical builder at AI Fund, Utekar\u2019s work looks very different from what he did before. Earlier in his career, he typically worked on a single product, spending months adding features and refining one system<\/p>\n

At AI Fund, the focus is broader and faster. The team generates ideas internally, builds early versions, and quickly tests and validates them<\/p>\n

Unlike most venture firms that invest in external startups, AI Fund builds them in-house. Utekar and his team take an idea from zero to one, validate it, and prepare it for founders who later take over. That early building phase is where most of his time goes, and it demands speed and constant experimentation<\/p>\n

When asked for advice for students or early-career engineers entering applied AI, Utekar comes back to the same principle that carried him from a cyber caf\u00e9 in India to San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStart building projects using AI, because it\u2019s very easy now,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can build a product in a single day, like going from zero to one in a single day. Try to make something valuable, something people can actually use, and keep building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\n Related:<\/strong>
\n
\n Digital Automation Training Benin: 5 Winning Skills Employers Demand in 2026
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n <a href="https:\/\/yoursite.com\/automation-africa\/" title="WhatsApp<\/a> Marketing Automation Africa: 6 Dangerous Mistakes Brands Make in Nigeria”>
\n WhatsApp Marketing Automation Africa: 6 Dangerous Mistakes Brands Make in Nigeria
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Want to learn this practically?<\/h3>\n

Join Justfine Infotech<\/strong> and build real digital skills in AI, automation, web development, digital marketing<\/a>, office productivity, e-commerce, freelancing and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

Available Programmes:<\/strong>
\n 6 Weeks Certificate \u2022 3 Months Professional Certificate \u2022 6 Months Diploma \u2022 Full Professional Diploma<\/p>\n

WhatsApp:<\/strong>
\n +229 01 57 57 99 15
\n +229 01 66 68 11 60<\/p>\n

Enroll Now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: studyinternational.com<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ForRakesh Utekar, the person who had the biggest influence on his AI career was someone he had never even met in person \u2013 Andrew Ng, managing general partner at AI Fund<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1037,281,573,1036,1038],"class_list":["post-4093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-certifications-online-learning","tag-built","tag-career","tag-engineer","tag-indian","tag-silicon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4094,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093\/revisions\/4094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}