My AI startup pays people to film themselves taking out the trash. It's now valued at $150 million.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
Kled AI founder Avi Patel.
Kled AI founder Avi Patel.

Kled AI

How 3 AI startup CEOs personally use AI tools for work and life

Tech Insider : Technology, Business
MARCH 11, 2026 - The AI logo was captured at the 2026 Hangzhou General Artificial Intelligence Exhibition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China on March 11, 2026.

CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

I quit my dream job at Apple to launch a startup with my dad. I have no regrets.

Tech Insider : Business, Sports, Technology
a father and son pose for a professional photo
Akshat Prakash and his father, Avneesh.

Courtesy of Akshat Prakash

Tech investor Bill Gurley predicts a 'reset' for the AI boom: 'I just think we trip and run out of money'

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
Bill Gurley is wearing a blue-striped, button-down shirt while standing before a bright yellow step-and-repeat.
Bill Gurley, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and a general partner Benchmark Capital, says AI can serve as "jet fuel" to a career.

Stephen Olker/Getty Images for SXSW

I followed the Chinese playbook for success, then quit Meta for startup life. It feels like being on-call 24/7.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
Yuhao Xu
After following the Chinese playbook to success, Yuhao Xu left his coveted tech job to build an AI startup.

Yuhao Xu

2 founding members of Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab quietly left for Meta

Tech Insider : Business
Murati's AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is seeking a $2 billion seed funding round, which could be the largest seed funding round in history.
Thinking Machines Lab CEO Mira Murati.

Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

I founded an AI startup while still in high school. I'm now 22 and have raised over $2M — I have no regrets about skipping college.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Technology
headshot of a man in front of a gray background
Ishraq Khan.

Courtesy of Ishraq Khan

This consultant advised Big Law at McKinsey. Now Sequoia is backing his AI startup for in-house lawyers.

Tech Insider : Business, Style, Technology
A man stands with his arms crossed on a cobblestone street in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood, with the Manhattan Bridge rising between red-brick buildings behind him.
Nick Fleisher.

Sandstone

I'm a startup founder who uses AI as a middle manager. It enables my junior employee to produce senior-level work.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy, Technology
A man with short gray hair and a trimmed beard looks toward the camera while standing against a softly blurred, multicolored brick wall.
Charles Swann uses the help of AI tooling to have his junior-level employee gain years of experience in seconds.

Courtesy of Charles Swann

3 people who pivoted into AI share how they used their college experience to break into the field

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Technology
Varun Goyal, Deep Shah, and Kriti Goyal.
Varun Goyal, Deep Shah, and Kriti Goyal share their experiences transitioning from college to the AI industry.

Photos courtesy of Varun Goyal/Deep Shah/Kriti Goyal

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