An Indian‑origin technology professional has left his “dream job” at Apple to co‑found an artificial intelligence (AI) startup with his father, saying the move was worth it. 27-year-old Akshat Prakash is now chief technology officer of Camb.ai, a company building AI tools for speech and translation.Prakash said the decision to leave Apple came from a long‑standing desire to build something of his own, and that working with his father has been a unique and effective partnership. “It has its pros and cons, but it’s completely worth it because there was no better cofounder for my dad or me,” he told Business Insider.Before starting Camb.ai, Prakash worked on the Siri team at Apple in California for two years. He described that role, particularly on a specialised unit known as the Web Answers Team, as “my dream job”. There, he contributed to building early versions of a system similar to ChatGPT.
From New Delhi to Pennsylvania
Prakash’s journey began in a small village near New Delhi. He moved with his family to Ireland in childhood before returning to India and then moving to the United States in 2016 for his undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania. He studied computer science with minors in ‘Internet of Things’ and artificial intelligence. While at university, Prakash completed summer internships at several technology companies, including Maven Machines, Intuit and Microsoft. He said the paid internships were life‑changing as an international student and showed him how well the technology industry pays.
Struggle with the English accent
Despite his success at Apple, Prakash said he always wanted to pursue entrepreneurship, even if he was initially uncertain of the exact path. A formative moment came during his early days in the US when he struggled to understand different accents despite speaking English. He described asking for coffee in a Starbucks and realising that language barriers existed even among English speakers. That experience helped shape his interest in translation‑focused technology.In early 2022, Prakash began exploring ideas and building prototypes. He spoke to investors and venture capitalists, but said he initially struggled to be taken seriously because of his age. “I looked young, and the VCs and investors didn’t take me seriously,” he said. He then brought his father into discussions to help present the vision.
How Akshat’s father entered the playing field
Prakash’s father believed in the idea and left his own job to join the venture full‑time. Camb.ai was incorporated in late 2022 as a Delaware C Corporation in the United States, and officially launched on January 1, 2023, with Prakash as CTO and his father as chief executive officer (CEO).Early funding came from a Singapore‑based deep‑tech fund called TRTL Ventures, which provided the first investment. The founding team initially consisted of six people, including research and development engineers and sales staff. Prakash and his father did not draw salaries in the early stages and chose to use their savings to support the team.
From nothing to $4 million
Camb.ai later raised a seed round of around $4 million, allowing the company to expand its operations, buy computing infrastructure and scale its artificial intelligence models. The company also broadened its focus to include real‑time translation and speech services.In January 2024, the startup gained greater traction after securing a contract to dub post‑match interviews at the Australian Open tennis tournament. That work brought further interest from sports and media companies.Prakash now splits his time between California and the United Arab Emirates, where his father is based. He works long hours, often meeting with teams and clients across global time zones, and retains a hybrid work schedule that spans late evenings in the UAE.
‘My dad believed in my vision’
Prakash said building the company with his father has been a rewarding experience. “My dad believed in my vision, and it was natural for him to quit his then job and become full‑time at Camb.ai,” he said. The partnership is built on mutual respect and complementary abilities.He acknowledged that leaving a stable job was not easy, given his traditional upbringing, where secure employment is often valued. “I could’ve continued to work at Apple, but I would’ve become and remained a cog in the system,” he said.Camb.ai continues to expand its offerings in AI translation and speech technology, serving clients in media, sports and other sectors. Prakash says the startup’s work stems from a combination of his academic background, personal experiences and a desire to tackle real challenges in communication and language understanding. Go to Source
