A US-based tech co-founder has sparked a huge debate online after he said he would happily pay $100,000 per day if that’s what it took to hire the best global talent. Shahriar Tajbakhsh, the co-founder and CTO of Metaview AI, made the comment while responding to a post on X that suggested the H-1B visa fee should be raised to $100,000 per year instead of being a one-time payment.
‘$100,000 doesn’t matter’
“Make it per day. I’ll set up a recurring payment,” Tajbakhsh wrote on X, replying to the anti-H1B post. His remark comes at a time when anti-H-1B sentiment is growing in the US, especially after President Donald Trump pushed for a $100,000 visa fee for companies hiring foreign workers.
make it per day. i’ll set up a recurring payment.
— Shahriar Tajbakhsh (@s16h_) December 4, 2025
This isn’t the first time the Iranian-origin entrepreneur has made headlines for his bold support of skilled foreign talent. Recently, his company’s hiring ads in India were doing the rounds online. The posters, printed in big bold letters, read: “Yes, we still sponsor H-1Bs” and “No, AI won’t build itself.” Bloomberg was the first to report that the billboards had been set up near IITs and top Indian tech colleges ahead of the placement season.
In an earlier interview with Business Insider, Tajbakhsh said, “When you sum up the value created by people’s hard work, $100,000 just doesn’t matter.” He added that the only way to build something meaningful is to hire the best people, “Trying to save money on talent is the most irresponsible thing a founder could possibly do.”
There is no doubt that Trump’s new visa fee has had a major impact on the number of foreign professionals coming to the US each year for jobs and higher education. According to US government data, more than 70% of all H-1B visa holders are from India, followed by China with around 10–12%, and then the rest of the world. The steep fee has pushed many companies to pause their hiring plans, while bigger firms like Nvidia have still shown a willingness to hire H-1B talent despite the cost barrier.
Who is Shahriar Tajbakhsh?
Before co-founding Metaview AI, Tajbakhsh worked as a software engineer at Morgan Stanley and later at Palantir Technologies. He studied Computer Science at University College London and is known for pushing back against the idea of cutting costs on hiring.
The conversation around H-1B visas has intensified in the US. Companies like Metaview, however, seem unfazed. Tajbakhsh said the company will continue filing H-1B petitions next year, no matter how the rules change. “An organisation’s success or failure is a function of its people,” he added. Back in September, Tajbakhsh had posted on LinkedIn and X about job openings at Metaview specifically for H-1B candidates.
He isn’t the only US-based CEO pushing back against calls to block H-1B workers. Earlier, tech mogul Elon Musk, during a conversation on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, said the US has been an “immense beneficiary” of Indian talent, warning that shutting down the H-1B program would be “very bad” for America.