Indian-origin techie reveals why he left ‘dream job’ at Apple to build AI startup with father

Indian-origin techie leaves Apple to start AI venture with father. (Image: Akshat Prakash/ LinkedIn)

Leaving a stable job at a global tech company is a decision most people hesitate to take. It offers security, recognition, and a clear career path. But for some, the desire to build something new outweighs all of that.

That is exactly what an Indian-origin tech professional has done after quitting Apple to start his own AI venture with his father. What began as a personal idea has now grown into a startup working in speech and translation technology.

27-year-old Akshat Prakash is the chief technology officer of Camb.ai, an AI startup focused on real-time speech and translation tools. He said the decision to leave Apple was not sudden, but driven by a long-term goal of building his own company and working closely with his father.

“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 founding Camb.ai, Prakash worked at Apple in California for two years. He was part of the Siri team, working in a specialised group called the Web Answers Team. In this role, he contributed to early systems that were similar to today’s AI chat tools. He has described that job as his “dream job”.

Prakash’s background spans several countries. He was born in a small village near New Delhi. Later, his family moved to Ireland, then returned to India, and finally relocated to the United States in 2016 when he joined Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania for computer science studies. He also completed minors in Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.

During university, he gained work experience through internships at companies such as Maven Machines, Intuit, and Microsoft. He has said these experiences helped him understand the real-world tech industry and the scale of opportunities available.

Even while working at Apple, Prakash said he had always been interested in entrepreneurship. One personal experience played a key role in shaping his thinking. After moving to the United States, he often found it difficult to understand different accents, even though English was not new to him. A simple moment at a Starbucks, where communication became confusing while ordering coffee, made him realise how language barriers exist even between English speakers. This pushed him towards the idea of building translation-focused technology.

In early 2022, he started working on ideas and building early versions of his product. He also began speaking to investors, but said he struggled at first to gain attention. “I looked young, and the VCs and investors didn’t take me seriously,” he said.

To strengthen his vision, he brought his father into discussions. His father believed in the idea and decided to leave his own job to join the startup full-time. Together, they co-founded Camb.ai. As the company grew, Camb.ai raised around $4 million in seed funding. This allowed the startup to expand its technology, improve computing infrastructure, and develop more advanced AI tools for speech and translation.

Today, Prakash divides his time between California and the United Arab Emirates, where his father is based. “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.

He also said their partnership works because they bring different strengths to the company. “I could’ve continued to work at Apple, but I would’ve become and remained a cog in the system,” he said.