YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Bridging Generations | Alumni Insights 2.0 – SANJAY GAJENDRA

Bridging Generations | Alumni Insights 2.0 – SANJAY GAJENDRA — Transcript

by ME-RIISE · 12,234 words · 1,978 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:01Sanjay, shall we start?
0:03>> Absolutely.
0:04>> Yeah, yeah. Thank you.
0:07A very good evening to everyone.
0:09It gives me immense pleasure to welcome
0:12you all to the sixth episode of Bridging
0:15Generations Alumni Insights
0:182.0. This is an initiative of Miri's
0:21Foundation at Malnad College of
0:23Engineering, Hassan.
0:25All about Bridging Generation, it is
0:27more than just alumni interaction
0:30series. It is a platform that connects
0:33the experiences, the achievements of our
0:36distinguished alumni with the
0:38aspirations of our young engineers.
0:42Today's session is particularly special
0:45and personally meaningful to me.
0:47Our distinguished guest, Mr.
0:50Sanjay Gajendra, is not only a proud
0:53alumnus of 1996 batch of Computer
0:56Science and Engineering at Malnad
0:59College of Engineering, but also my
1:01classmate. To add upon, his life
1:04partner, Mrs. Roopa Nayak, is also my
1:07classmate. It is indeed a wonderful
1:10feeling to welcome someone with whom I
1:13shared my college days and the journey
1:16of engineering education and to see him
1:19today as a successful global technology
1:23leader and entrepreneur.
1:26Yeah. Uh Sanjay, it is truly a proud and
1:31memorable moment for me to introduce you
1:34to our students and our faculty.
1:37From being classmates at MCE to
1:40witnessing your remarkable journey
1:43in the global semiconductor industry,
1:46it is really inspiring to see how far
1:49your vision, dedication, and hard work
1:52have taken you.
1:53Yes, Mr. Sanjay Gajendra is currently
1:57the president, chief operating officer,
2:00and co-founder of Astera Labs, a
2:03semiconductor technology company
2:06headquartered in Silicon Valley,
2:08California, USA.
2:10Astera Labs develops advanced
2:13semiconductor-based connectivity
2:15solutions that are critical to modern
2:18cloud and artificial intelligence
2:21infrastructure.
2:22With nearly three decades of
2:25professional experience, Mr. Sanjay has
2:28built an outstanding career spanning
2:31software engineering, semiconductor
2:34technology, product management, business
2:37development, and corporate leadership.
2:40He began his professional journey at
2:43Wipro Technologies in 1996,
2:46subsequently moving to National
2:49Semiconductor,
2:51where he held very important roles in
2:53software engineering and project product
2:56management.
2:58Uh later, he joined Texas Instruments,
3:01where he served in senior leadership
3:03positions, including director of product
3:07management and general manager and
3:10product line director for high-speed
3:13signal conditioning.
3:15During his tenure at Texas Instruments,
3:17he led multidisciplinary
3:20teams across silicon design, product
3:23engineering, marketing, and business
3:26operations. His leadership contributed
3:29to the development and launch of more
3:32than 50 products, along with new
3:35business initiatives that generated
3:38hundreds of millions of dollars in
3:40revenue.
3:41And the good news is in 2018,
3:45he co-founded Astera Labs, taking on the
3:49challenge of building a technology
3:51company focused on solving critical
3:54connectivity challenges in the rapidly
3:57evolving cloud and AI ecosystem. To add
4:01on, he also holds a master's degree in
4:04engineering management from the
4:07University of California Sorry, from the
4:10University of Colorado Boulder with
4:14an emphasis on research and development
4:17and business management.
4:19Yes, what makes this journey inspiring
4:22is his belief that talented people,
4:24disciplined execution, and game-changing
4:28innovation are essential ingredients for
4:32sustained business success.
4:35Sanjay, I feel an immense sense of pride
4:38in your achievements. Your journey is a
4:40reminder to our students that the
4:43foundations laid at MCE can lead to
4:47extraordinary accomplishments on the
4:49global stage.
4:51Your presence today makes this episode
4:54of Bridging Generations even more
4:56meaningful as it truly represents the
4:59spirit of reconnecting with our roots,
5:03celebrating the achievements of our
5:05alumni, and inspiring the next
5:07generation. On behalf of Meenakshi
5:09Foundation and Malnad College of
5:12Engineering, I extend a very warm and
5:15heartfelt welcome to you. Sanjay,
5:18welcome back to your MCE family. The
5:21stage is yours. Thank you.
5:25>> Great. Now, thank you so much. That's so
5:27kind of you. All the things you said,
5:29it's a it's a pleasure both uh
5:32to reconnect with you, uh Geetha Kiran,
5:35considering uh all the time we spent
5:37together uh in Hassan. It's also great
5:40to uh talk to all of you who have uh
5:43who are connected on the call today.
5:46It's been a journey, but uh the journey
5:49started in MCH as in
5:51So, it's a it's my privilege to be to
5:54talking to all of you.
5:58>> Thank you.
6:11You want to present anything?
6:14Can be presenting?
6:16>> I wouldn't be presenting. I can talk.
6:19>> Um
6:20>> Yeah, that's very nice.
6:22>> Yeah.
6:23And maybe
6:24let me kick off by giving a little bit
6:26more for folks that are listening on um
6:29on on
6:31the journey that you described. Um
6:34You know, for me um
6:37obviously started in Hassan.
6:39I did my computer science.
6:41I think many of you um
6:43probably um
6:45have this feeling. Um when I was growing
6:47up, the primary thing around um
6:51that I wanted to do was that I did not
6:53want to work for a services company in
6:55India.
6:56Um I always was passionate about
7:00products.
7:01And um
7:03had the opportunity, of course, to start
7:05my career in Wipro.
7:08Made sure that I did not work on
7:11services part of Wipro.
7:13And started off with a with a product
7:16that that Wipro was building.
7:19But in general, my journey has been
7:21around uh how to
7:24make sure that um
7:26I'm putting myself in situations where
7:29we are um
7:31working on on technology that results in
7:35um
7:35in scale when it comes to monetization.
7:39So, for me, that path was largely by
7:42looking at companies uh even back then.
7:46Um companies like Microsoft or Apple
7:49that worked on products and were able to
7:52scale themselves not based on just human
7:56innovation,
7:58but also about
8:00being able to monetize by selling
8:03millions of products.
8:05So, that was my calling card. The second
8:08thing that I always wanted to do was to
8:11make sure that I'm able to uh
8:15build a company very early on um
8:18even when I was a little child, I always
8:21equated entrepreneurship with
8:23independence.
8:25And that independence that I sought and
8:28not having to depend on others
8:31uh led me to believe that I need to
8:33start a company someday.
8:36So,
8:37the effort that I have done ever since
8:40even during college days, I used to work
8:42multiple jobs to be able to not take any
8:45money from my parents for living
8:49expenses and so on
8:51uh during my college days.
8:53And those were things that also shaped
8:55me to be able to pursue different
8:58things. But the second objective that I
9:00have always pursued was to make sure
9:03that um
9:04that the independence that you achieve
9:07by being an entrepreneur was preserved.
9:09And thankfully, I was able to do that
9:12when we started Astera Labs about 10
9:15years ago.
9:17That has turned into
9:19a
9:20a significant powerhouse in the in the
9:22AI infrastructure market.
9:25Nine out of 10 data centers today or if
9:28you're using Google or Amazon or any of
9:31the tools,
9:32there is
9:33almost a nine out of 10 chance that the
9:36technology is powered by Estera Labs.
9:38So, I feel proud about
9:40um the journey and the impact that we're
9:42doing.
9:44The third thing that I would say is uh
9:46is what we're doing here, which is um to
9:49make sure that you not only achieve
9:51individual success
9:53uh or individual dreams and goals, but
9:56also make sure that the blessings that
9:58we have been given or what I have been
10:00given is shared with others so that the
10:04path is uh a little bit easier to the
10:06ones that follow.
10:08So, I think in in summary, what I would
10:10say is that um
10:12uh
10:13this conversation is great for me
10:15because it does
10:17bring
10:18the circle full full around in terms of
10:22uh starting in yeah in MCE and picking
10:26up my initial education there for um
10:30through the undergrad degree.
10:32And then growing through a a career that
10:35spanned different companies and
10:37different roles,
10:38but all
10:39uh all um uh central with the idea of uh
10:43being independent, being an
10:44entrepreneur, and to be able to make
10:47sure that um uh that not only I am
10:50successful, but we are able to enable
10:53others to reach their maximum potential.
10:56So, with that, I'll hand it back to you,
10:58Gita, for any other questions that you
11:00might have.
11:05>> Yeah, Sanjay, I have shared the
11:07questions with you.
11:12Hello.
11:13>> Yes.
11:13>> Ma'am, yeah. I think you can hear me.
11:19>> Yeah, Gita ma'am, can we probably you
11:21can go through the questions and ask
11:23uh the questions which you already have.
11:26Then uh we can leave it open to the
11:28people to ask questions, huh?
11:30Probably the the pre
11:32you were the pre list from the students
11:34correct. Let us go through that first
11:35and then go to leave it to the
11:36organizers here.
11:38>> Sure, we'll do it.
11:45>> Yeah, so let me the first question that
11:47is there is choosing the right area of
11:49specialization.
11:51As engineering students, we are exposed
11:54to numerous technologies and career
11:56opportunities.
11:58How did you identify the field you
12:00wanted to specialize in during your
12:03early career and how did you determine
12:06that you were making the right choice?
12:10So, it's a question that gets asked in
12:12different ways.
12:14You know, obviously it feels like
12:16everything is planned, but trust me it's
12:19not. Um at least in my case, um I did
12:22not want to do engineering.
12:24Um but as fate would have it, I could
12:27not get into
12:30uh
12:31the uh medical line which I wanted to
12:33go.
12:34Um unfortunately, you know, at that
12:36point I think even now you have CET. Um
12:40I think the the general merit
12:42>> for engineering. For medical, it is NEET
12:45now.
12:46One more
12:46>> I see.
12:47>> national level
12:48>> Yeah. I see. No, unfortunately my
12:51situation was such that I could not
12:53afford to go to any private college at
12:55that point. And the cut off I remember
12:58was like 325
13:00rank I think state rank for merit seats
13:03at that point and my ranking was 329.
13:07So, unfortunately I could
13:10I could could not get into medicine and
13:13then
13:15the next best thing was engineering. As
13:17you know, in growing up in India you
13:18have you can be anything um
13:21as long as it's a doctor or engineer.
13:25So, that's how
13:27that's how I got into engineering.
13:30Um
13:31and Hassan became a choice because
13:36I had a aunt out there that lived and my
13:39parents at that point wanted to make
13:40sure that we were close to someone.
13:43So, um
13:45So, I think there was a series of things
13:47that played out, but I would also say,
13:50you know, life is about I think as you
13:52build your career, you'll realize that
13:54there are many doors that open to you.
13:58As long as you're pointed in the right
14:00way that
14:01sort of aligns with your passion. For
14:04me, like I noted, being an entrepreneur,
14:07being a builder
14:09was something that
14:11that I was naturally inclined to and
14:14engineering made at that point given the
14:17circumstances. I didn't have any It
14:19wasn't like I didn't want to be an
14:20engineer, but it was something that I
14:23was um
14:25um that I could relate to. Now, I also
14:28was very clear about what I don't want
14:30to do in the sense that I was not cut
14:33out to be a mechanical engineer or civil
14:37engineer. I just felt that those were
14:41things that I did not associate with.
14:44Programming and computer engineering
14:47again connected back to what I
14:50thought I was good at, which was to be
14:53creative in terms of solving different
14:56problems. And at that point, software
14:59programming was something that I I
15:01deeply deeply enjoyed even back in
15:04college days.
15:06And that's kind of how it all started.
15:08It's hard to kind of pinpoint and have
15:11an ambition. You need to have a life
15:13passion. I truly believe that. In my
15:15case, like I noted, being independent
15:17and being an entrepreneur was my sort of
15:20anchoring concept in terms of how I
15:23wanted to lead my life. But the path
15:25that you take could be many and you
15:28learn different things and that that age
15:30especially when you're a college student
15:32or till you probably get to your um
15:34you know, late 20s,
15:37my philosophy in life and in generally
15:39when I tell kids of that age is to you
15:42know, there is no wrong steps at that
15:45age meaning you can take any step and
15:47it's still a step forward.
15:49You you can fall and and you could have
15:52done a mistake but there's still a lot
15:53of time on your side to be able to
15:56correct and do what whatever is needed.
15:59So in general I would say don't
16:01overthink at that age as long as you're
16:03pointed generally in the direction of
16:05where you want to go,
16:07you'll be all right. And that is
16:10would be how I would suggest you
16:13approach
16:14your career as well.
16:23So the next question I see here is
16:25industry expectations and mentorship.
16:28Students are often encouraged to learn
16:31emerging technologies and undertake
16:33projects. From an industry leaders
16:35perspective, what qualities, skills and
16:39attitudes do you look for in eng
16:42engineers that make them worth mentoring
16:44and investing in?
16:46That's a great question. Um
16:48See, at the age that you are, one of the
16:51number one skills that is important and
16:54what we look for is how coachable you
16:57are.
16:58What I mean by that is
17:00you know, there's a lot of kids that
17:02probably have got great grades, probably
17:05um
17:06um
17:07are also very smart and hard working and
17:10all that but at the age that you are or
17:14the when you go through your academic
17:15stuff, you know, compared to the
17:17industry requirement to where you are
17:20when you're graduating, there's a
17:22significant gap. Doesn't matter which
17:24college you go or what course you do and
17:26so on.
17:28So, the number one thing becomes how do
17:30you bridge that gap between um
17:33the raw talent that you are to be able
17:36to
17:37um deliver at the the the expectations
17:41that you that are essential or or or um
17:44expected in the uh professional setup.
17:47Um and that gap you can close uh
17:51by making sure that that you know, you
17:54are given a certain amount of uh
17:56training and given a certain amount of
17:58uh mentorship. But, you need to be
18:01coachable. You need to be able to um
18:04um take the feedback, um build on it,
18:07learn from it, and so on. So, I think
18:10the number one quality we look for um at
18:12least in Estera and the companies and
18:15teams that I've been part of is how
18:16coachable you are. That's number one.
18:19Number two that we look for would be in
18:22terms of um
18:23um not necessarily your um your um uh
18:28your you know, skill set because a bar
18:30for skill set at that that level would
18:33be less. But, what we look for is uh how
18:36much of um
18:38uh how much of um
18:40uh not necessarily experience, but I
18:42would say projects that you've done
18:45because coursework is coursework, but if
18:47you can supplement during your your
18:50college time with various different
18:52projects you've done, whether it's an
18:54through internship or through your
18:57coursework projects, meaning more
18:59hands-on stuff versus um doing something
19:03that is um
19:04that is theoretical in nature. And I
19:06There are different companies that that
19:08look at different things, but I won't
19:10say generally speaking what uh we try to
19:13do is make sure that um someone or the
19:16the folks that we talk to uh
19:18have done something beyond just a
19:21theoretical studies of different courses
19:24that you're doing.
19:25And for that, you can do that through
19:27formal internships, or it could also
19:30happen that informally you are spending
19:33time learning, building, contributing to
19:36open-source forums and and other things.
19:39Those things in my mind are a lot more
19:41important than the grade that you have.
19:44Um cuz you know, usually we
19:47we try to go for the most success we
19:50have had in Estera has been in in
19:53mid-level regional colleges. Um you
19:56know, similar to a college like Hassan,
19:58let's say, back in India, where the kids
20:01are um
20:03you know, there is no chip on their
20:04shoulders. Uh when we go to Stanford or
20:07go to Harvard and other places and and
20:09interview kids, the challenge we see is
20:12that the kids already feel entitled. Um
20:15they feel that they deserve the job. I
20:17mean, this could happen for kids
20:19studying, let's say, in IIT in India,
20:21where there is a um
20:24you know, getting into IIT is considered
20:26their life success, and after that
20:28everything that happens doesn't matter.
20:31But the honest truth is that getting
20:33into a college or getting out of a
20:35college is um
20:37just the beginning of a long journey.
20:40And a going to the a certain college
20:42might help you get a job, the first job,
20:46but after 6 months or 1 year, it's level
20:48playing field, meaning we don't the
20:51college that you went to or the course
20:53that you did or the grades that you have
20:56is meaningless. And to that standpoint,
20:58what it comes down to is um is, you
21:01know, the ability of kids to be
21:03coachable, the ability of how quickly
21:06they can learn and adapt and those are
21:09things I would say are important
21:12factors. So if you get an opportunity to
21:14to
21:15to
21:18have some internship opportunities while
21:20in college, I think that is probably a
21:23very positive things thing on your
21:26resume.
21:31So I can go through this long list but
21:33there is any other questions is
21:35>> Yeah, Sanjay probably
21:37I think that's a brilliant point what
21:39you made about the learnability and
21:40coachability of the individuals
21:42and how it is important
21:44yeah grades are important but compared
21:46to that how do you learn and how you can
21:48be coached and molded. See what I liked
21:50about one point which you mentioned
21:52about the uniqueness of colleges like
21:54the way you mentioned you know, they're
21:56not probably the tier one sort of a
21:58thing but we get much more independence
22:01and probably much more opportunities to
22:03grow in the college. So that's something
22:05which we're trying to see how we can
22:06make
22:08Hassan College as the forefront in some
22:10of those things.
22:12Sanjay one related question which I have
22:14the whole concept of learnability today
22:17is going to take a big hit because of AI
22:19correct the way we are learning
22:21or way we have learned and the way that
22:23next generation will learn probably is
22:25different. How do you foresee it Sanjay
22:28the impact of AI on not only
22:29learnability every aspect but since you
22:31picked up on learnability I thought that
22:32is something interesting to
22:34ask you.
22:36>> Yeah, no absolutely. See first of all I
22:38would say to all of you guys
22:41AI is going to completely change how you
22:44learn how you work how you deal with
22:47life in general.
22:49Now we are in the forefront of the
22:52technology
22:53pretty much any major hyperscaler that
22:56you think of that's developing
22:58technology with Amazon or Nvidia or
23:02Google You know, we are essentially
23:04providing the underlying connectivity
23:07technology. So, um meaning we provide
23:10the
23:11If you think of a human body as an
23:13anatomy, like just for comparison, and
23:17um
23:17if companies like Nvidia are doing the
23:19brains, we do the nervous system,
23:21meaning connecting the brain to the
23:23different parts of the body or different
23:25parts of an AI server. So, we see a lot
23:28we see a lot in terms of the um the
23:31workloads and applications that are
23:33changing dramatically. But, to answer
23:35your question on um how AI um how how to
23:39deal with um AI or how to use AI, first
23:43thing you you need to embrace it. Don't
23:45fight it. Don't be worried about it. AI
23:47is here to stay.
23:49Okay. Just like internet, just like
23:51social media, you know, the genie's out
23:54of the bottle right now. And it is going
23:56to fundamentally change how um we all
23:59operate. So, specifically for the crowd
24:02here, I think there are two things,
24:03right? One is how do you leverage AI for
24:07your own learning? Um you know, first of
24:10all, again, I don't know what the
24:11policies at MCER, but at least um here
24:14what I see is that, you know, kids are
24:16encouraged to use AI as part of their um
24:20their coursework and and learning and so
24:23on. Um there is no need to fight it.
24:26There is no need to say, you know, you
24:28still have to learn the fun
24:31fundamentals. So, the way it's done here
24:33is kids are allowed to use uh AI for
24:36doing coursework, but exams, they have
24:39to make sure that, you know, it's uh
24:41there is no AI involved. So, to that
24:43standpoint, the foundational learning
24:45has to happen. And um
24:48uh I would say learn about how do you I
24:51mean, today, to be honest with you, and
24:53some of you guys may get worried who are
24:55doing computer science and all that.
24:58Um
24:59you know, till about like 10 years
25:01experience folks, we can replace that
25:04with AI. Okay, meaning our software
25:07engineering uh team, you know, we have
25:10pretty much achieved, I want to say, you
25:12know, 70-80%
25:14efficiency by using AI. In other words,
25:17what used to take us um let's say 10
25:20people, now we can do that with five
25:22people.
25:23Um and and that is uh the reality.
25:27Um that is also changing quickly to um
25:30you know, silicon design, hardware
25:32design, and so on. But um that is a
25:35reality. There is no point fighting
25:37about it, and especially for anything,
25:40most of the jobs in India, if you think
25:42about it, that are um
25:44that are um
25:45uh dealing with data and data movement
25:49or data synthesis, you can pretty much
25:51assume that uh most of those kind of
25:54jobs would be replaced by AI.
25:57So, the question becomes, what do you
25:59do? And the answer is in some ways
26:01complex, some ways simple, which is you
26:04need to figure out how do you go up the
26:06value chain, whereby leveraging the AI
26:09tools, whether it is um related to um a
26:13a certain um um you know, coding aspect
26:16or or software development aspect or any
26:18other aspect, you learn those tools. And
26:22that allows you to get to the next level
26:25of um of um
26:27uh of impact or influence you can have.
26:29Um and so that's that's that's
26:32foundational uh of what I would suggest
26:34you do, like at Estera, we do it just to
26:37give you an idea, we have high school
26:39internships. So, right at high school,
26:41kids are taught how to use AI, and I'm
26:44not talking about AI just for search,
26:47like chat GPT and all that. I'm talking
26:49about, you know, proper um agentic AIs,
26:52where people are writing agents to
26:54complete and do several things or
26:57leveraging that for
26:59for software development and so on. So,
27:02you have to like very early
27:05start embracing it in a way that would
27:08impact and allow you to do different
27:10things.
27:12Go ahead, Ashik.
27:17Ashik, you have a question.
27:18>> Yeah.
27:19>> Hello, sir. It's Ashik Lee actually from
27:21Miraish.
27:23So, lately I have been
27:26searching a lot about AI and I was
27:29getting to know that when optic fibers
27:31had come, we were not really actually
27:34using 100% of it and we were using only
27:37about 0.45%
27:39of it. Now, what would be like after 5
27:42or 10 years in product development,
27:45the AIs whichever we use become very
27:47expensive and we might have to go back
27:50to our initial stages of learning the
27:53actual what the initial ways of doing
27:57product development. Now, what do you
27:58suggest for the students that they have
28:00to focus
28:01things which are very much necessary in
28:03the product development?
28:06That completely not focusing on AI and
28:08learning everything from AI. What are
28:10those things that the students might
28:12have to follow and keep in mind that
28:15these are the things which you have to
28:16keep in mind and make sure that you are
28:18well versed with that. Even if there is
28:20no AI, you will still survive in the
28:22product development market.
28:25>> Yeah, see, number one thing I want to be
28:27very clear is that AI is a tool. Okay?
28:30Just like a calculator or even the
28:32internet, it's a it's a tool that can
28:35help you get the job done. But, you need
28:38to still do the job yourself, meaning
28:41the foundation learning of critical
28:43thinking or first principle thinking or
28:46problem-solving or you know,
28:49analyzing results and so on is is still
28:52very much a human thing. So, the
28:54learning that you guys are doing is not
28:58going to get replaced. You still have to
29:00learn those things.
29:01And AI
29:03is essentially a tool for
29:05for uh
29:07for learning better or learning
29:09differently or accelerating your
29:11learning and so on. That's a very
29:13critical differentiation that you need
29:15to make. Okay. Um so, that's the first
29:18point. Now, getting to your point of
29:20like
29:21you know, how do you
29:23Um I mean, you talked about optical and
29:26so on and the whole concept of you know,
29:28the dead fiber and so on. So, see we are
29:31right now in an in a in a infrastructure
29:34building stage with AI.
29:36Okay. So, we are meaning still very
29:39early in the AI journey.
29:42Um the way I would describe it is that
29:44some of you might have used dial-up
29:46internet. You know, initially when
29:47internet came up, you had to connect
29:49through the phone lines.
29:51Um and that's the stage that we truly
29:53are. There is a lot of infrastructure
29:55being built. Of course, um there is this
29:58infrastructure is not uh cheap meaning
30:00there's a lot of capital being poured
30:02into this.
30:04Um but, the fact of the matter remains
30:06the following, right? Um even today,
30:08even though people buy Nvidia GPUs
30:12paying tens of thousands of dollars,
30:14they're only utilized about 52% of the
30:17time. Meaning 48% of the time, they're
30:20simply waiting for data or memory.
30:24Meaning there is a lot of inefficiencies
30:26in how the servers are being uh
30:29um are being utilized. So, what you
30:32should expect is similar to the internet
30:36um
30:37uh
30:38revolution and the technology when it
30:40got deployed, there was a huge amount of
30:43infrastructure build out and lot of
30:45hype. But what happened is that in 2000,
30:48it all came crashing down, right?
30:51But the the goodness of internet as a
30:54technology is survived and then over the
30:57next decade meaning there was a big
31:00run-up and then it all came down and
31:02then there was a a gradual growth to to
31:05start realizing how to monetize a
31:08technology, meaning like once people
31:10figured out how to monetize internet
31:13through
31:14various different ways, whether it's
31:15online
31:17commerce, e-commerce, or by leveraging
31:20it for a variety of communication ways,
31:23whether it's voice over IP and things
31:25like that, then the monetization
31:27started, meaning you go from an
31:29infrastructure development to the
31:31monetization. And once the monetization
31:34starts, then you start the engine
31:36starts, you know, growing. Cuz today
31:39what's happening is that, you know, for
31:41every $150
31:43that are spent, um the amount of of of
31:48revenue coming through that is probably
31:50like $50, $60, meaning it's almost not
31:53even half. So this is this this is an
31:56initial anytime a new technology is lot
31:58of infrastructure being built, the
32:00monetization is low. So at some point
32:03the the markets will react, the capital
32:06won't be available, uh and and things
32:08will come down. But what happens is the
32:10monetization continues and once the
32:13monetization starts becoming at a faster
32:16clip than the capital investment that's
32:19going on, then suddenly you see this
32:21transition where you know, there's lot
32:23of
32:24lot of applications being built, people
32:27are paying for that. I mean, you see you
32:29see that even now happening with some of
32:31the search engine-based stuff like
32:33ChatGPT and so on. But still, we are so
32:36early in this era of AI that over the
32:39next 10 years, my hunch is you know, you
32:43would see so many changes happening
32:44around your lifestyle.
32:47Whether it is for doing like vacation
32:49planning. Today, what do you do? You you
32:52decide where you want to go, you go to a
32:54website, you do some research, you go
32:56book your hotels, you go book your
32:59you know, your travel tickets and so on.
33:02But very quickly in the next, let's say
33:04two to four years, it's all going to
33:06come down to just one prompt where you
33:09simply say, "Hey, I want to go you have
33:11these days free and you want to do
33:12something with it." And the tools would
33:15be smart enough to be able to figure out
33:17where all you have gone in the past,
33:19what kind of places that you like, what
33:21kind of
33:22locations are available, what do you
33:26what do you you know, what kind of
33:29logistics, travel tickets and all that
33:31is automatically done with a single
33:34prompt. And that is sort of the era that
33:37we'll be entering and and that will open
33:39up a whole different kind of economy
33:41similar to what internet did.
33:44And that will lead into new kind of
33:46jobs, meaning jobs are not going away,
33:48just to be very clear. What's happening
33:51is that the the way the jobs get
33:53defined, the job
33:55description or the kind of roles that
33:58you can do will be very different than
34:00what it is been in the last you know,
34:0210-20 years.
34:04So, in general, when it comes to
34:06product development, product management,
34:09what you need to make sure is that
34:11you're understanding the impact of a of
34:13a new tool which is AI and then saying,
34:16"Okay, now that we have this, how do you
34:18use that tool to achieve a different
34:21level of
34:22of productivity or monetization point?"
34:29>> Thank you. Thank you, sir. So, you're
34:30suggesting that
34:32the tools will help us to increase our
34:34efficiency but the fundamental human
34:37part is always built there.
34:39>> Absolutely. Absolutely.
34:41>> Thank you. Thank you, sir.
34:43>> Yeah, jobs are not going anywhere. All
34:45I'm suggesting is that I mean right now
34:47I can talk about Estera. We you know, we
34:49are hiring um because it is so talent is
34:53so hard to come by, you know, especially
34:56in Estera. Half of our hires we get from
34:59new college grads. We do that intensely
35:01because the new college grads are
35:05much more ready for AI than our
35:08generation. Okay, just a simple matter
35:10of fact just because of how you're grown
35:13up um in the social media era and how
35:15connected you are to to various tools
35:18and so on. Um
35:20you guys are much more prepared but my
35:22suggestion to all of you is that you
35:25need to retool yourself and make sure
35:27that you're able to um leverage that for
35:30achieving higher levels of productivity.
35:36>> Yeah. Thank you.
35:39Let us go to the next.
35:47>> Okay, you want me to read the next
35:49question?
35:51>> You tell me if you're asking something.
35:55>> Yeah, I was just thinking like we'll go
35:57to the move to the next question.
36:02Shall I?
36:03>> Yes, yes, please read it. I think it's
36:05better because let
36:06>> Yeah, the next question is regarding
36:08selecting the
36:09yeah, selecting the right career path.
36:13Uh the question is with career
36:15opportunities in web development, data
36:17analytics, and software engineering, how
36:20should students evaluate these options
36:23and choose a career path that offers
36:26long-term growth, job security, and
36:28professional satisfaction.
36:34>> Yeah, so I think I touched upon this a
36:36little bit earlier. Um
36:39See, the the uh
36:41at the stage that you are in a college,
36:43it's what becomes important is that your
36:46directionally, you know, we we we kind
36:49of joke here in the US saying you have
36:51to be in the right zip code.
36:54Um you don't have to right zip code or
36:56right pin code, I guess, in India. Um
36:59what I mean by that is um See, um all of
37:03you are talented. You all have various
37:05skill set, but it's almost like um
37:08making sure that you're pointed in the
37:11in the right way.
37:12Um I think career opportunities, I mean,
37:15it all comes down to what you want to do
37:18individually. Um In other words, some of
37:21you might be interested in in data
37:23analytics or or or hard core software
37:25programming, or you might be interested
37:28in product management, product
37:30marketing, or you might be interested
37:32in, you know, some other uh field as
37:34well, um including sales, technical
37:37sales as an example. Right? So, uh I
37:40would say you have to be honest to that
37:44cuz the
37:45uh um
37:46the mistake that I think a lot of folks
37:48do is to focus on their weakness and
37:51say, "Let me try to keep addressing the
37:54weakness I have." But what I find is
37:57that, you know, you all are blessed uh
37:59with a certain um skill set or a
38:02god-given talent. I find that the the
38:05the highest chance of success uh will
38:09happen when you are um when you are
38:12leveraging your strengths and and
38:15worrying less about your weakness. So,
38:18your strengths are naturally um inclined
38:20towards a passion you have or a domain
38:23domain that you feel naturally
38:26comfortable. So, I think it starts with
38:29that uh by being honest about
38:32uh what is your strength and then having
38:35the mindset of saying, "Let me leverage
38:37my strength um as a way of building a
38:41career or a profession."
38:44So, that I think is is a is a first
38:46point. Um then it becomes a a matter of
38:50like how do you uh surround yourself
38:53with the right people or the right
38:56context uh which goes back to the right
38:58PIN code I said, where, you know, if you
39:01are interested in product management,
39:03then you have to join a product company.
39:06You have to uh find a way to, you know,
39:09learn from how the product management
39:12type of career would work, which could
39:14be around, you know, understanding what
39:17the market needs, what the customer
39:19needs are, and and so on and so forth.
39:21So, that I know is easier said than done
39:24because in India, obviously, or in any
39:26place, you know, getting a job of what
39:29you are passionate about uh is
39:31difficult. Um but at that point, what it
39:34comes down to is that how are you able
39:37to manage your priorities? Meaning, even
39:41though you want to get into product
39:42management, you might start somewhere
39:44else. But then your fortitude of being
39:47able to stay true to your ambition and
39:51making sure that even though the first
39:53few years you're doing something that uh
39:55probably
39:56uh may not be directly related to
39:58product management is is is not
40:00something that you you get discouraged,
40:03but you start saying, "Given that my
40:06goal is product management, how do I
40:08start in a certain domain?" And I can
40:11give you an example. Like for me, like I
40:13noted, I wanted to start a company. That
40:15was my life's mission. That is what I
40:17always thought about. But I also
40:19realized very quickly that you know, the
40:22chances of building a a successful
40:24company is is is very small. Um I think
40:28the the statistic is that, you know, um
40:31just 6% of the companies see their fifth
40:34birthday, meaning 94% of the companies
40:38die even before they get to 5 years. So,
40:42it was is it was very clear for me that
40:45for me to start a company, I need to
40:46build some foundation, some anchor skill
40:49set, whether it's a domain knowledge, or
40:52whether it is having a good network of
40:54people, or having a mental temperament
40:58that that is strong in resilience and
41:01and all that stuff. So, what I did was
41:04my first job when I got in in Wipro, um
41:07uh
41:08you know, I made sure that I convinced
41:10enough people to put me in a group. It
41:12was a small group at that point in
41:14Wipro. 99% of Wipro was working on
41:17services. There was 1% of the company
41:20working on products. And I somehow made
41:23my way to that group. Um I started doing
41:26software. And then when I came to the
41:28US, I was still doing software. Although
41:31my next step was going to be on the
41:33business side, product management, I
41:35always made sure that even though I was
41:37part of the software engineering team, I
41:40would go have lunch with the product
41:42people. I would go and listen to how
41:44they're presenting to customers. I would
41:47try to like read up on different things
41:49and send some, you know, emails to the
41:51product team to say, "Hey, what do you
41:53think about this? What do you think
41:55about that?" Um every opportunity I got
41:58to go listen to someone talking about
42:00product management or entrepreneurship.
42:02So, the point I'm trying to make is that
42:04you may not get what you want on day
42:07one. But as long as you're honest about
42:10your passion, you believe in yourself,
42:13and you are able to leverage every
42:15opportunity
42:17to be able to
42:18to, you know, keep making a step forward
42:21to the goal that you have in life, I
42:23think you will eventually get there. You
42:25just have to have the temperament, the
42:28patience, and the conviction that one
42:31way or the other you'll achieve your
42:33goal. And that probably is um
42:36you know, some of the things that I
42:37would say of how to achieve uh long-term
42:41success, how to achieve professional
42:43satisfaction, and how to achieve job
42:46security. That really comes down to you
42:49as in like you need to be able to
42:51deliver enough results, you need to be
42:54able to deliver enough value, you need
42:57to show that you are truly someone that
42:59the company should
43:01should depend on. And that comes through
43:03working hard, working smart, and all the
43:06cliches that you hear. So, those are a
43:08few things I would tell when it comes to
43:10selecting a career path. You will not be
43:13there on day one, but if you are
43:15persistent, you will get to where you
43:17want to be.
43:28>> Sir,
43:29I have a question.
43:30>> Mhm.
43:31>> Sir,
43:32the
43:33Yeah, ma'am. I'm Dr. Mohana Lakshmi. I'm
43:36associated with Dr. Geetha Kiran at
43:38Miraise Foundation. I work with the her.
43:41I So, I was listening to ma'am reading
43:43your journey right from MCE going on to
43:47the global stage. You've seen various
43:48levels of transition in your career,
43:50sir. But what was that one point in your
43:52journey which made you to build such a
43:55big empire of Astera Labs? There is
43:58There should be some turning point which
44:00would have made you take this decision.
44:03>> Yeah, no. I think there were probably
44:05two important
44:07uh important points professionally that,
44:10uh, that helped me.
44:11One was, uh, in 2007.
44:15So, I was,
44:17uh, in software engineering for about 10
44:20years at that point.
44:22And, uh,
44:23you know, unfortunately, the first few
44:25years, the first 10 years, I worked on
44:27products that did not make money.
44:30Okay, so, I'm like one of those
44:32engineers that I will put my,
44:35you know, every minute of the day, uh,
44:37in in doing my work, but for me, the
44:41satisfaction comes when the product that
44:43I worked on from an engineering
44:45standpoint or whatever,
44:47transforms into monetary business or
44:50commercial success.
44:53Meaning, people are actually using the
44:55product. People are actually, uh, paying
44:58for it. So, what happened in 2007 was
45:01that I was so frustrated with, uh, with
45:04working on products that did not,
45:06uh, make money that I kept complaining
45:09to my then GM.
45:11And I think at some point he got so
45:13frustrated that he said, "Hey, if you,
45:16you know, think so much of yourself or
45:18you think," and I used to complain
45:19saying, "Your marketing team doesn't
45:21know what products to build." And, uh,
45:24he basically turned around really mad at
45:27me and said, "You know, if you think you
45:29know so much about marketing, you should
45:32join marketing."
45:33And, you know, that one sentence
45:36transformed me if the first time where I
45:39said, "Okay, I will take it." I took it
45:40as a challenge more than anything else.
45:43We were in Colorado. We had just built a
45:45a nice house. We had our son there. We
45:48had great friends there. But, over a
45:51weekend, we decided to move from
45:53Colorado to California because, you
45:55know, that's where National
45:57Semiconductor's, uh, which I was working
45:59then, they had their headquarters and
46:01the marketing teams were based here. So
46:03that I want to say is one
46:05life-transforming
46:07decision for me to basically say that
46:10now that
46:11I have an opportunity to do what I want
46:13to do, let me embrace it wholeheartedly.
46:16Meaning there was no half measure there.
46:19It was all or nothing. But that was one
46:21decision.
46:22The second decision or the turning point
46:24that happened was in
46:27National got acquired by Texas
46:29Instruments in 2012.
46:31Um and you know,
46:33um
46:34I had a great career in Texas
46:36Instruments. I was a GM. I was managing
46:38a significant business.
46:40Hundreds of people and and great
46:43success. I could have continued to be
46:44there.
46:45But then what
46:47also I mean even though we we learned a
46:50lot from Texas Instruments and the
46:51company was very kind. But what happened
46:54in 2017 was that you know, we saw this
46:57this transition happening where server
47:00motherboards were transitioning from
47:02just having CPUs from companies like
47:05Intel or AMD to start having GPUs or
47:09accelerators for doing what was then
47:11called heterogeneous compute or now we
47:14know it as AI infrastructure.
47:16Um or machine learning is was was the
47:19was the way it started. And we very
47:21quickly realized that the the when you
47:24have multiple processors on a computer,
47:27they need to talk to each other. They
47:29need to talk to each other very fast.
47:31And the underlying connectivity had to
47:33change. So by real fortune, I mean now I
47:37say it's fortunate but in TI we had to
47:40present to management every year what
47:43our longer term plan was. And this was
47:45my plan saying hey fundamentally the
47:48workloads are changing and hardware has
47:50to be different.
47:52Now
47:53I say it's fortunate because TI did not
47:56like the idea. I mean, TI has been a
47:58great company, but they focus mostly on,
48:01you know,
48:02industrial and automotive type of
48:04market,
48:05whereas AI is very vertical. You know,
48:07there's only few large companies like
48:10Google and Amazon
48:12that that you get to service mostly.
48:16And to that standpoint, again, it was a
48:19decision time, you know, you you believe
48:21in something
48:23in terms of transition, but the other
48:26person does not or the company in this
48:28case did not believe. And it comes down
48:31to what you do at that point. You can
48:33say, you know what, I give up this idea
48:36I have, or you say, let me back myself
48:40up and go embrace and do something with
48:42it.
48:43So, that was the second decision, but
48:45you see the the trend here. All comes
48:47down to how do you make sure that when
48:50an opportunity is presented,
48:53you take it. And you don't take it
48:55blindly. Like, if you think about it, we
48:57had prepared for it, like
49:00even going to my first transition, I had
49:02studied a lot about product and
49:05marketing, even though I was in
49:07engineering. So, when an opportunity
49:09presented itself, I was prepared. And
49:11that point, you have to, you know, back
49:13yourself and say, I'm going to go for
49:15it. There is no half measure. Same thing
49:17when TI said, this is not an area that
49:20they want to invest because it was too
49:22niche, it was again a moment where you
49:25say, you know what, I believe in this
49:26concept
49:28wholeheartedly. I prepared for it by
49:31taking on different, you know, general
49:33management roles, and so on. And then
49:36you you transition. So, the point I'm
49:39trying to make is that all of you will
49:41be presented with moments like this.
49:44And as long as you're able to like have
49:46the conviction to to go and do what you
49:49want, you'll be wildly successful, you
49:52know, way more successful than I have
49:54been.
49:58Go ahead, Dhanush.
50:01>> Yeah, we have Dhanush.
50:03Dhanush, you have a question?
50:08>> Hello. Hello.
50:09>> Ah, Dhanush, yes.
50:11>> Ah, yes yes, sir. This is Dhanush. So,
50:14sir, I'm in first year in CSE, studying
50:16in CSE.
50:17>> It's echoing, Dhanush.
50:21Yeah, tell me.
50:29>> Go ahead, Dhanush. We can hear you. Go
50:31ahead.
50:32>> Unmute yourself.
50:37>> Hello.
50:38>> Yes.
50:39>> Yes.
50:39>> Yes, tell me.
50:40>> Ah, yes yes. Ah, I'm Dhanush from first
50:43year in CSE college and I'm near ice.
50:46Ah, so I wanted to know like I wanted
50:48one suggestion like where people people
50:50are telling me to focus more on AI and
50:52fundamental stuff.
50:54So, I'm so confused in being first year
50:56this much I know I can't take and so
50:58what would you suggest me like one
50:59thing?
51:03>> So, first of all,
51:06um
51:06don't feel alone, okay? There is um a
51:09generation of kids that are um that are
51:13um trying to grapple and they're caught
51:15between the um the industry transition
51:18that's happening around AI.
51:20Um my suggestion to you and others in a
51:23similar boat is that um you know, think
51:26of AI as a tool. Your foundational
51:29learning is still extremely valuable.
51:33So, if you like uh programming or I
51:36don't know what field you want to
51:37pursue, but um
51:40you know, my one suggestion would be is
51:42that
51:43um
51:44in India this is done correctly where
51:46you have the computer science
51:48engineering where you are not just
51:51learning software as in just higher
51:54level application program, but you're
51:56learning the foundation of of computer
51:58architecture or computer networking or
52:02you know, various aspects of programming
52:04languages and all that, right? So, those
52:06are still extremely relevant skills
52:09because end of the day, those are
52:11foundation skills. It's like learning
52:13the alphabets of the language. So,
52:16continue to pursue that. What I would
52:19suggest though is that if you are in,
52:22you know, interested in like application
52:24level programming, then that whole
52:27domain is going to go through a
52:28significant transformation in the next,
52:31you know, whatever, right? 2 to 5 years.
52:33So, the best way to to do that is stay
52:37connected. There are a lot of online
52:40places where you can learn about how
52:43software programming is changing or
52:46how's how are some of the tools being,
52:48you know, developed differently using
52:51AI. So, make sure that you're you're
52:55keeping yourself updated because end of
52:58the day, you will get a job. You will
53:00have a great career
53:02as long as you know the foundational
53:04skills of various aspects of computer
53:07architecture and so on and then you are
53:09very diligently learning the new tools
53:12and then you are supplementing that with
53:14like some hands-on stuff, whether it's
53:16through internship and so on, you know,
53:18you will be totally fine. Don't don't
53:20feel lost or confused. Just stay focused
53:24on the foundational stuff and the rest
53:26of it,
53:27you know, it will come to you. Just make
53:29sure that you don't just put your head,
53:31you know, cover your head in in the sand
53:33and just pretend like you know, you're
53:37that nothing is happening around you.
53:38Understand that the world is changing,
53:41but be aware of the changes and react
53:43accordingly.
53:49And one of the things that we do in
53:51Asteer which probably we'll also include
53:54in MCE is today we go to all the all the
53:58bits
53:59and and some of the IITs where we do
54:02hackathons, we do hands-on training to
54:06kids about you know, the different AI
54:09tools that are coming. We give talks. We
54:12of course bring in a whole lot of
54:14interns. And at least in Asteer for
54:16every three employees we have an intern.
54:19So you can imagine we we over index on
54:22internship and and new college grads. I
54:25don't believe currently we are doing
54:27that with MCE. So we'll try and make
54:29sure that we include MCE
54:32as a place that we will do all that.
54:36>> Yeah, thank you for that Sanjay.
54:38This
54:40Yes, Sanjay. I was the other day
54:42talking to you about conducting
54:44hackathon at MCE.
54:46Also the internship. Thanks for
54:48mentioning that.
54:52>> Yeah, no worries.
54:53>> Yeah. And also
54:55we have question another two questions,
54:57but I feel that you have already
54:59answered that. Like building long-term
55:02financial freedom. What strategies and
55:04financial habits would you recommend to
55:06young engineers who are inspired to
55:08achieve financial freedom
55:10early in their careers. You have already
55:12told your journey that you
55:16>> So
55:17I I want to I want to make a couple of
55:18points on that if it's okay because I
55:20think it's
55:21I mean whoever asked this question here
55:24>> It's from the that's from the kids, the
55:26students.
55:26>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's it's a credit
55:28to you guys to start thinking about
55:30financial independence.
55:32Uh
55:34See, um Um
55:35you know, I used to work in different
55:38places uh just to make sure that um
55:42that you are you know, it's a it's
55:44actually very if I think about my
55:46entrepreneurial journey, it's amazing
55:49how I can always trace a certain
55:51situation that I'm in right now to
55:53something I did during my school days or
55:56college days.
55:58You know, um for example, whether it's a
56:00negotiating skill. Like in India, you
56:02negotiate for everything.
56:04Same exact the the basics of negotiation
56:07does not change you know, when you get
56:10into a professional setup or when you're
56:12an entrepreneur. You know, how do you
56:14position something? What's the um
56:16uh the entry point? So, similarly with
56:19financial independence and how you go
56:21about like uh doing stuff. Um you have
56:24to start it during the college days, but
56:26make sure that you know, don't overthink
56:28about it meaning prioritize learning. Um
56:32You know, sometimes you could you could
56:34get carried away by earning few few
56:36rupees um early on, but that takes time
56:40away. If that you know, meaning don't
56:42prioritize the money part, prioritize
56:45the learning part at the stage that you
56:47are. Um you can always make money as
56:50long as you're learning things in the
56:52right way and you're equipping yourself.
56:54Uh but at same time, it's fun to get a
56:56little money on on your hand if you are
56:58able to um
56:59as part of your learning translate that
57:01into some money that you can use for uh
57:04further enhancing or just having fun.
57:08>> Yeah, you're right. Yeah, Sanjay uh
57:13It's really I feeling amazing. I still
57:16remember those days when you Rupa were
57:18moving around together. I always felt
57:22that as I told you earlier also that
57:24great brains are moving together and
57:27it's
57:28it's really come true. That
57:31I remember those days where Rupa Nayak,
57:33Rupa B, you remember I think, Shaila and
57:37uh
57:37>> Yeah.
57:37>> Uma was sitting in the first bench, me
57:39at the second bench with Anu.
57:42We were there together. Yeah, they were
57:44always being the first, Rupa B and Rupa
57:47Nayak, always.
57:49It's lovely to see that uh the same
57:51intelligence and curiosity has continued
57:54to evolve with the times. Uh great. I
57:57always used to feel like yeah, great
57:59brains, but we used to feel that you'd
58:01be a good uh software developer of
58:04of that kind, but I never imagined you
58:07being such a great entrepreneur.
58:09>> Uh-huh.
58:10>> Very nice getting the awards. Still
58:12great.
58:14It's lovely to see.
58:15>> Thank you. Thank you.
58:16>> Yeah,
58:17I could see you when I question I have a
58:22Hi, ma'am. I have a question about how
58:24to get internships. Like before it was
58:26easy to get into internships and hiring
58:28process, but now it is it's so difficult
58:31to get into companies. Any advices on
58:33this, please?
58:35Okay, I think he had uh yeah, one guy
58:38called Rahul has popped out that
58:40question.
58:42>> Yeah, so
58:44again, I I mean, to be very candid, I'm
58:46not uh fully aware of how internships
58:49work in India, um but I can tell you
58:53what we do in Estera India. So, we have
58:55offices in Bangalore,
58:57uh Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
59:00>> Okay.
59:00>> So, we are very intentional about
59:03internship.
59:04So, if you guys are interested, um
59:07you know, later on through uh we can
59:09share some links where you can apply.
59:12Um
59:13uh but in general, you know, I would say
59:18um
59:18do some pre-work as in like, you know,
59:22during the during the school year
59:24college year, um don't wait for
59:27preparing or applying for internship
59:30once the the time comes. Like, make
59:32yourself relevant and stand out. And
59:34that you can do by, you know, obviously,
59:38um, not just doing well in your grades,
59:40but also learning about different
59:43things, um, whether it is, uh,
59:45you know, through online or or other
59:47forums. If you're able to put yourself
59:50in a, um, situation where when the time
59:53comes for an internship opportunity, uh,
59:56your resume pops out because you have
59:59credentials or you've done things beyond
1:00:02standard coursework. That gives a very
1:00:04good signal to folks that, "Hey, you are
1:00:06not just someone that's just trying to
1:00:08cruise by. You're willing to do
1:00:10something more than that." And that is
1:00:13one way in which I I would suggest you
1:00:15stand out. And then opportunities are
1:00:18always going to be limited. Competition
1:00:20will be high. So, and you might not get
1:00:23internships, whatever, right? But it's
1:00:25okay. I I want to make sure that you
1:00:27guys understand the stage that you are
1:00:29in life. You know, you have to learn to
1:00:33to stay in the fight because you have
1:00:35time on your side. Even if you stumble,
1:00:37you fall, you don't get something,
1:00:39you'll always get something, um, beyond
1:00:42that, okay? So, you have to make sure
1:00:43that you stay engaged. And that is
1:00:46probably the most important thing you
1:00:48can do. If you stop being engaged, if
1:00:50you stop learning, if you start feeling
1:00:52like the world is coming to an end
1:00:54because you didn't get an internship,
1:00:56then, you know, you are simply missing
1:00:58out.
1:01:01>> I think, uh, since I have some idea
1:01:03about what's happening here, uh, Rahul,
1:01:05you can get in touch with me. I can help
1:01:07because I'm already helping few of the
1:01:09MC students.
1:01:17>> I I think, Sanjay, thank you. Thank you
1:01:19for everything. And I I we are at the
1:01:21close of the hour
1:01:23and it was a lovely session and
1:01:24brilliant. I enjoyed every bit of it.
1:01:27Gita madam, can you uh huh?
1:01:29>> Yes, sir.
1:01:32Yeah, I liked it, sir. Really, we
1:01:34enjoyed the whole session. 1 hour I was
1:01:36just thinking, yeah, it's already 1
1:01:38hour.
1:01:40>> Sanjay, one one one point I probably
1:01:42it's not a debate of debate at this
1:01:44point of time.
1:01:46See, for me one issue with AI, you know,
1:01:48I I work on the on the product side
1:01:49also. For me issue with AI which I'm
1:01:51feeling how it is different from rest of
1:01:54the other
1:01:55internet or
1:01:57computer or any of the other thing is
1:01:59here sometimes I believe that, you know,
1:02:01like the way you mentioned, the
1:02:03intelligence is getting outsourced.
1:02:05So far either knowledge was getting
1:02:06outsourced, but AI my worry is that, you
1:02:08know,
1:02:09like the way you said, probably with the
1:02:11agents could replace 50% of your
1:02:13workforce.
1:02:14Probably that is something which may
1:02:16have a much more profound impact than
1:02:18what
1:02:19probably people are thinking today. So
1:02:20that's my worry with the AI part. I
1:02:23don't know where it is going to lead.
1:02:25That's
1:02:27>> Yeah.
1:02:28No, I think, see, that's what I'm
1:02:29saying. That's a reality. I know you're
1:02:31getting worried or
1:02:33but you know, I I'm just being candid to
1:02:36all of you guys. That is what's going to
1:02:38happen. But the question becomes what do
1:02:40you do about it, right? Um
1:02:42I mean, same thing I'm sure that
1:02:45people worried when um
1:02:47when
1:02:48you know, yeah, computer came or you
1:02:50know, trains replaced horses, whatever,
1:02:52right?
1:02:53But that's been the history of mankind.
1:02:56So I do believe that we will persevere
1:02:58and figure things out, but the most
1:03:01important thing is to stay engaged. If
1:03:03you are, you know, if you don't, then
1:03:05you are simply becoming irrelevant on
1:03:07day one.
1:03:08So I do believe that there will be
1:03:10changes. There will be new jobs created,
1:03:12new kinds of jobs than than what you see
1:03:15today.
1:03:16Um you know, medical research and other
1:03:19things would become lot more efficient.
1:03:21So, but in general, I think there will
1:03:24be new openings that will come up in the
1:03:26next, uh, let's say 2 to 5 years. You
1:03:28just have to be ready and prepared when
1:03:31these openings come up and if you don't
1:03:33know how to use and program and create
1:03:35AI agents, then you're not ready and you
1:03:37will simply get overlooked.
1:03:42>> I think Anand has a question,
1:03:44Gita madam.
1:03:45Anand, I think I saw a question from
1:03:46you.
1:03:48>> Yeah,
1:03:49there are two hands up, sir.
1:03:51>> Okay.
1:03:51>> Yeah, I don't have a question, but if I
1:03:53have, uh, if I have the permission of
1:03:55Sanjay, I just want to share just two
1:03:57things. And I'm 100% sure Sanjay has
1:04:00done both of these things even though he
1:04:01didn't, uh, address it.
1:04:04One is,
1:04:05please have fun while doing all these
1:04:08things. Don't don't lose Don't lose the
1:04:10larger things of life that Don't make it
1:04:13as a as a running on a treadmill. Yes,
1:04:15you're running, you're sweating, not
1:04:16going anywhere. Have fun with it. And
1:04:19I'm sure 100,000 times sure that Sanjay
1:04:22has had fun all along. Otherwise, he can
1:04:24never be successful.
1:04:26And the second important thing to have
1:04:28fun is please don't neglect the health
1:04:31of your mind.
1:04:33Unless your mind is healthy, including
1:04:36the body, but unless the mind is healthy
1:04:38with good habits,
1:04:40you cannot have fun and you cannot have
1:04:42success. And I'm 100,000% sure that
1:04:45Sanjay has kept his mind healthy all
1:04:48along. Otherwise,
1:04:50his his radiance on his face and his
1:04:52smile tells that he he would never have
1:04:54been successful.
1:04:56So, please don't neglect these two.
1:04:58>> Yeah, absolutely.
1:05:00>> Very good advice, sir.
1:05:02>> Yeah, you know, good point. I mean, I
1:05:04think just quickly I would say two
1:05:05points, right? One is that,
1:05:07uh, exactly like how it was told. See, I
1:05:11think you don't view life as an as an
1:05:13end goal or a finish line. It's a
1:05:15journey. Every day you need to learn how
1:05:18to enjoy it. Doesn't matter where you
1:05:20are. So, as long as you're enjoying the
1:05:22journey, you'll always be fine. And the
1:05:24mental health piece of it is absolutely
1:05:26true.
1:05:27Um meaning your ability to
1:05:31to to
1:05:32deal with several things that come like
1:05:34on a daily basis. For me,
1:05:36you know, I'm dealing with the hardest
1:05:38problems in the company just given the
1:05:40role that I have. And the way it comes
1:05:43down to is your mental ability to sort
1:05:46of have the temperament, have the
1:05:47patience, have the fortitude to deal
1:05:50with it in a in a calm and composed way.
1:05:53And that requires um
1:05:55means I'm sure you are all dealing with
1:05:57your own set of challenges.
1:05:59Um
1:06:00but I think
1:06:01what becomes important is how calm can
1:06:04you stay in those situations. Um
1:06:08you know, for me it comes down to every
1:06:10day I need to reset myself. Like I every
1:06:13day I wake up at 5:30, I work out, I do
1:06:16my yoga,
1:06:17um get ready for the day, meaning the
1:06:20discipline of managing your mental
1:06:22health, your physical health,
1:06:25and and you know, of course pursuing
1:06:28whatever your career ambition is. All of
1:06:30those things become important. And if
1:06:32you don't have those things, then you
1:06:34know, you can't succeed. And just one
1:06:36quick analogy I'll give is
1:06:38think about this tool. You need you need
1:06:40minimum of three legs. Okay? And and one
1:06:43leg is your health. The other leg could
1:06:46be your profession. And the third leg
1:06:48could be your relationship. Each three
1:06:50things are important. Otherwise, your
1:06:52life will simply come crashing down.
1:06:58>> Rightly said, Sanjay.
1:07:02Any more questions?
1:07:04>> Yes, ma'am. There are Pratixa had a
1:07:06question and Arun
1:07:08was also raising his hands. I think we
1:07:10can take two more questions, last two
1:07:11questions.
1:07:12>> Last two questions, please.
1:07:14>> Hey, uh
1:07:19Hi Sanjay. Hello Geeta.
1:07:22Hey, it's great to see you. I'm a
1:07:25I'm an alum I'm an alumnus as well and
1:07:27uh
1:07:28happy to be here and I've been listening
1:07:30to Sanjay and all of you guys. It's a
1:07:33really a
1:07:34a moment of
1:07:36um what we should say uh great
1:07:38belonging, right? So,
1:07:40uh
1:07:41I think one good point which Sanjay
1:07:43touched is um
1:07:45how prepared you will be in the next um
1:07:47two to five years. So, my probably my
1:07:50thinking I'm sure my senior and my
1:07:52brother's classmate Kiran a pro in in
1:07:56industry and then in this uh
1:07:58um development uh
1:08:01focus he's been having. One thought I
1:08:03kind of
1:08:04wanted to say is
1:08:06how can our syllabi cover this aspect,
1:08:10right? Right? Like you talked about
1:08:11hackathons, you talked about
1:08:12internships, etc. Of course, that is
1:08:15like a
1:08:16have hackathons happen always and during
1:08:19the curriculum as well it happens. The
1:08:21internships normally are
1:08:23um mostly interspersed um
1:08:25across your third year, fourth year, and
1:08:27so on. And even post the um college um
1:08:31passout period. But to be in that uh
1:08:34let's say the game of preparedness. So,
1:08:36can we do something in the
1:08:38uh within the college times or within
1:08:40these hackathons?
1:08:41What can be brought in as some
1:08:43activities and kind of
1:08:45things which make students think about
1:08:48yes, AI will
1:08:50come in in in a big scale.
1:08:52Uh what is that I can be prepared with?
1:08:54So, in those in those lines we can think
1:08:56of introducing some activities or even
1:08:59thought process, right? So,
1:09:00Yeah.
1:09:01Hackathons to prepare you guys to do
1:09:04that. Uh How prepared you will be for
1:09:06those situations. Maybe those kind of
1:09:07ideas could be good to develop Gita. So,
1:09:10that's what I wanted to say. Yeah.
1:09:12>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
1:09:13We are in the process, sir. And also I
1:09:15have asked support from Sanjay
1:09:19regarding that.
1:09:20And one thing audience,
1:09:24I had kept it as a special moment to
1:09:27appreciate Sanjay about his EY World
1:09:30Entrepreneur of the Year 2026.
1:09:33He was honored at the prestigious global
1:09:36award ceremony held in Monaco in May
1:09:392026. Am I right, Sanjay?
1:09:42>> You're right.
1:09:42>> We are very proud of you at the May
1:09:442026. Very proud.
1:09:47Uh yeah. And please convey my wishes to
1:09:51Roopa Naik.
1:09:53I think she's sleeping.
1:09:55>> She just walked by. Yes. No, I will let
1:09:58her know. Thank you so much. Yes.
1:10:00>> I now probably conclude this. Is that
1:10:03fine? Or we'll take up one more
1:10:05question. Any more questions?
1:10:09I think no.
1:10:11Fine.
1:10:12I now request Dr. Mohan Alagappa to
1:10:15formally give a
1:10:17thanks.
1:10:17>> Pratiksha was there with a question.
1:10:19>> Okay. Fine. Okay. Fine. Okay.
1:10:22Fine.
1:10:23>> you can please ask.
1:10:25>> Hello, sir. If you don't mind, I have a
1:10:27question, please.
1:10:29>> Absolutely. No mind at all.
1:10:33>> Um sir, since you've been both an
1:10:35entrepreneur and an engineer,
1:10:37so let's take an example of like Elon
1:10:39Musk with a concept of making reusable
1:10:42space rockets. He was mocked then
1:10:45decades ago. But now he's made it into
1:10:47reality. And just like that, how do you
1:10:49figure out if the idea is really Is it
1:10:53If it is feasible and possible and if
1:10:55it's just fictional? how do we recognize
1:10:58that?
1:11:00>> That's a great question and a deep
1:11:02question.
1:11:03Um
1:11:04See, this is what defines an
1:11:07entrepreneur, right? So, you can be an
1:11:09engineer, which is great career and all
1:11:11that. Um
1:11:13In entrepreneurship, what happens is
1:11:15that you're able to manifest the future.
1:11:18Um
1:11:19and you have the um
1:11:21the um execution um focus or execution
1:11:26capability to deliver what you are um
1:11:29stating as if as a future state.
1:11:32So, it you know, lot of times it's easy
1:11:35to say um that, "Hey, you know, you want
1:11:38to use reusable rockets or you want to
1:11:41fly to Mars someday." There many, many
1:11:43people that that say that. Of course,
1:11:45there is lot of movies about things like
1:11:48that, right?
1:11:50But, really I think that is less
1:11:51important than what Elon has been able
1:11:54to do um as part of how to execute and
1:11:58deliver to that mission.
1:12:00Meaning, um that is probably the hardest
1:12:03part um to achieve.
1:12:05I've had the opportunity to meet Elon
1:12:07few times, but what I find amazing about
1:12:11him um is
1:12:13you know, it's not those big statements
1:12:15he makes, but then what does he do after
1:12:17that?
1:12:18Right? Uh and that really comes down to
1:12:21the um the execution of that vision, the
1:12:25people that he puts together, the
1:12:27resources that he uh he puts into it,
1:12:30and that single-minded commitment to
1:12:32that one goal. Because invariably, there
1:12:35will be a a million things that will
1:12:38tell you that it cannot be done.
1:12:41But, the spirit of entrepreneurship is
1:12:43is simply that. How do you
1:12:46um how do you react when someone tells
1:12:49you it cannot be done? Whether it is a
1:12:51technical challenge, it could be a
1:12:53commercial challenge, it could be a you
1:12:55know, some legal challenge or whatever
1:12:58it is.
1:12:59And that is the essence of
1:13:00entrepreneurship is to basically say
1:13:03when someone says it cannot be done for
1:13:05whatever reason, what are the actions
1:13:08you take and you transform that no to an
1:13:11to an S
1:13:13either based on your intellectual
1:13:15capability of you or your team, your
1:13:17perseverance of it, your ability to like
1:13:20break down that no into a small set of
1:13:23no's and then you tackle each one of
1:13:25them and convert that into S. So, that
1:13:27is probably the bigger lesson to be
1:13:30learned when someone like Elon or or
1:13:32Steve Jobs when he was around say when
1:13:35it comes to entrepreneurship and that's
1:13:37really the crux of it. If you want to be
1:13:40a great entrepreneur, you need to
1:13:43A have the audacity to have a grand
1:13:46vision and then you need to have the
1:13:48discipline of um of delivering to that
1:13:51vision through a series of
1:13:54acting actions and activities
1:13:57where when the whole world is saying no,
1:13:59you're saying yes, it can be done and
1:14:02you keep staying true to the mission and
1:14:04that's that's what I would say and and
1:14:06that's you know, really the
1:14:09what what you should be doing as well.
1:14:12Talk is easy. Ideas are cheap. I'll be
1:14:15very candid with you. Everyone has
1:14:17ideas. Everyone has money as well. The
1:14:20key to success is how can you um stay
1:14:25true to the mission, execute and deliver
1:14:28and not get distracted by the next shiny
1:14:30object or get distracted by what others
1:14:33are doing, but simply have the
1:14:35conviction to plow forward and get the
1:14:38stuff done.
1:14:44>> Is Is clear Pratiksha?
1:14:48>> Uh yes, sir. Thank you. It was really
1:14:49insightful, yeah. Thank you.
1:14:52>> And one day you'll be you'll be an
1:14:53entrepreneur, I can sense from your
1:14:55voice. So, go big, okay? Don't go half
1:14:58measure.
1:14:59>> Yeah, you're right, Sanjay.
1:15:01Thank you, sir.
1:15:03Yeah.
1:15:05Yes. Thank you, Sanjay. Thank you for
1:15:07giving us more than 1 hour. We had You
1:15:10had promised for 6:00 to 7:00. It is
1:15:12already 7:15.
1:15:13>> It's It's 6:00 45 a.m. here. I have all
1:15:16day, but yes, no, thank you so much for
1:15:18hosting me. Thank you for uh
1:15:21for uh all the kind words that you
1:15:22shared. Thank you for the questions and
1:15:24to all the folks that are online. Um um
1:15:27you know, I I would leave you with this
1:15:29thought, which is um uh make your own
1:15:32story. Yeah.
1:15:35>> Yeah. Give the vote of thanks.
1:15:37>> Okay.
1:15:39>> Mohana?
1:15:50Mohan Lakshmi?
1:16:03>> Okay, I'll take it as a vote of thanks.
1:16:05It's It's fine.
1:16:06>> No, no, no, she is speaking. It's not
1:16:08That's what I was trying to
1:16:11It's not audible.
1:16:13It's not audible here.
1:16:16No.
1:16:35>> Geetha madam, you can thank her on her
1:16:37behalf.
1:16:38>> Okay, sure.
1:16:40I thought you
1:16:41>> Am I audible now?
1:16:42>> But Sanjay, it was a really really
1:16:44privilege to have you.
1:16:46>> Yeah.
1:16:47>> So we are actually we are very happy and
1:16:49honored to have you with us because I we
1:16:53probably I think from the past 8 to 10
1:16:56months I have heard Gita ma'am speaking
1:16:58about you and Shivu Koteshwar sir and
1:17:00she always
1:17:02because she herself wants to see our
1:17:04students and our college
1:17:06build that entrepreneurial ecosystem in
1:17:09the entire region. So she always start
1:17:11started telling wow it is so nice to see
1:17:14them my classmates growing into global
1:17:16leaders. And today hearing to you
1:17:18hearing to your journey and the way you
1:17:21simply and you just put out things
1:17:24in a very simple manner and in a
1:17:27all the practical things also
1:17:29you explain in a very nice manner sir.
1:17:31So you also told like one thing which I
1:17:34like the most was uh you told that you
1:17:37told our student Dhanush don't feel lost
1:17:39or confused by how technology is
1:17:42changing. So you wanted you want
1:17:44students to keep the fundamental strong.
1:17:45I think this is something that everyone
1:17:47should
1:17:48keep in mind.
1:17:50Stay updated and gain hands-on
1:17:52experience. And your journey of your the
1:17:55two examples of your transition that you
1:17:57gave are are really something that even
1:18:00we have to think about. So when an
1:18:02opportunity arises how whether we are
1:18:04able to take that risk and
1:18:07decide upon our take a decision upon our
1:18:09thoughts and move forward or give up and
1:18:12stay back. So these two examples were
1:18:15really motivating for us.
1:18:17So and thank you for
1:18:19connecting so early in the morning. I
1:18:21can see the sun rising behind you.
1:18:25>> Yes. No, thank you thank you.
1:18:28No, thank you so much.
1:18:32>> You will not believe how
1:18:34Kitti sir has been a part of this
1:18:36session
1:18:38always there whenever we have bridging
1:18:40generations and this is the second
1:18:42season in the sixth episode. So, thank
1:18:45you Kitty sir for always being with us.
1:18:47We totally appreciate it and special
1:18:50thanks to
1:18:50>> thank me Mohan, it's okay.
1:18:52It's always lovely to listen to
1:18:53different people, correct?
1:18:57>> But we are thankful to you, sir.
1:19:00>> Yes.
1:19:00>> So, thank you Sanjay sir. Thank you once
1:19:02again.
1:19:03>> No, thank you. This has been a
1:19:05privilege. This has been a privilege. Um
1:19:08>> Sometimes you please make time to be at
1:19:10MC.
1:19:11>> Yes, I would love to and I would like to
1:19:13do, you know, um more to to make sure we
1:19:17can help everyone there. So, I will talk
1:19:19to you separately but at least we'll
1:19:22we'll make sure that um
1:19:24whatever I can help, uh what Astera can
1:19:26help, we will try and make sure that um
1:19:29MC um
1:19:31grows on. I mean, I learned a lot
1:19:33growing up in MC, not just the education
1:19:35part but just the fact of how do you
1:19:38you know, go through your four years in
1:19:40college, just life I would say.
1:19:42And that enabled me to get to where I am
1:19:45today. So, I'm forever grateful to to
1:19:47the to the to the university, to the
1:19:49college um and to all the teachers.
1:19:52It was good to see uh Mr. Arun there as
1:19:54well. Uh he taught me
1:19:59He he did teach me programming so I'm
1:20:02that got me started but it's also I want
1:20:04to say um
1:20:05you know,
1:20:07it's it's created who I am today and for
1:20:09many of you guys listening, I would say
1:20:11um you know, um
1:20:13make sure that um
1:20:15that you take the opportunity. Um don't
1:20:18just survive in life, thrive in life,
1:20:20dream big, uh work hard and then you all
1:20:24will become much bigger entrepreneurs
1:20:26than much more successful than what I
1:20:28was able to achieve. So, thank Thank
1:20:30much.
1:20:31>> Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Sanjay.
1:20:33>> All right. See you guys. Bye-bye.
1:20:35>> Bye.
1:20:35>> Bye-bye.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Bridging Generations | Alumni Insights 2.0 – SANJAY GAJENDRA by ME-RIISE, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 12,234 words across 1,978 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.