From JEE rank 77 to Twitter CEO to $2 billion AI founder: Parag Agrawal’s path

Parag Agrawal secured All India Rank 77 in the Joint Entrance Examination before joining the Computer Science and Engineering programme at IIT Bombay, a path that eventually led him to become Twitter’s CEO and, later, the founder of a $2 billion artificial intelligence startup.

After graduating with a B.Tech from IIT Bombay, Agrawal moved to Stanford University to complete a PhD in Computer Science, working as a research intern at Microsoft, Yahoo and AT&T Labs during his doctoral years. He joined Twitter in 2011 as a distinguished software engineer, when the company had fewer than 1,000 employees, and became Chief Technology Officer in 2017.

In November 2021, Agrawal was appointed Twitter’s CEO, becoming one of the youngest CEOs in the global technology industry. His tenure lasted barely a year before Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022 and replaced the company’s top leadership, including Agrawal.

Rather than return to another executive position, Agrawal founded Parallel Web Systems in 2023, building infrastructure for AI applications and large-scale computing systems. According to publicly reported funding information, the company is now valued at approximately $2 billion, placing it among Silicon Valley’s fast-growing AI startups.