A LinkedIn profile of an IAS officer who worked for NITI Aayog for around nine years has been doing the rounds on social media and is leaving people in disbelief. Why? Because the officer not only left a prestigious civil service career but also made a leap into the startup world. He co-founded a company before working for a tech giant. Many on the Internet have been posting the screenshot of his LinkedIn profile and terming it as the “craziest pivot” they have ever seen.
Some who couldn’t wrap their heads around it reacted simply with the word “damn”. Others claimed that they “know” why he did that pivot. A few even joked by saying that one should “never” let anyone know their “next move”.
Who is this IAS officer everybody is talking about?
Kashish Mittal, who holds a BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Delhi, began his career in January 2011 as an IAS probationer in Mussoorie. He went on to serve in different roles, including the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh and Deputy Commissioner of Tawang. In 2016, he was appointed as Private Secretary to the Minister of State for External Affairs. A year later, he joined NITI Aayog, where he worked for two years.
In January 2020, Mittal left his civil service career and joined Microsoft as a Principal Researcher. According to his LinkedIn profile, he focused on AI for societal impact and contributed to Microsoft Research. After spending five years at the tech giant, he resigned, only to launch his AI startup.
His startup, Disha AI, is based in Bengaluru and backed by South Park Commons. SPC is a community and early-stage venture fund that helps people build their startups. The platform aims to help individuals master in-demand AI skills and take the lead in their careers through a “learn-by-doing” approach. The platform offers courses for everyone, including students and working professionals.
How are social media users reacting to this?
“Wow! Is this for real?” asked one social media user.
Another joined, “9 years of IAS must be very useful to make sure of any such pivots for lifetime.”
One social media user explained: “It’s not really crazy if you really understand the role of AI for safety/societal impact. It’s very close to a policy and tech for good kinda impact role. Exactly a NITI Aayog bureaucrat would’ve dealt with at scale. It has nothing to do with ‘Microsoft’ big tech, and all that. There are many PMs and PgMs in big tech at all levels whose role is just to define policy and impact at scale.”
“Networked while in Govt think tank, then used that to get in MS + was an IITD engineer,” yet another social media user thinks.