Lucknow, India – The remarkable journey of Tejesh Vaish, a 26-year-old who transformed from a sweet shop assistant with modest academic beginnings into a lead Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineer earning ₹2.5 crore annually, is inspiring many. Vaish, originally from Sadar Bazaar, Lucknow Cantonment, now spearheads AI engineering at Dubai-based Lumian.ai.
From Family Business to Academic Ascent
Growing up, Tejesh Vaish was deeply involved in his family’s sweet shop, Gayatri Mishthan Bhandar, run by his father, Ashok Kumar Vaish. Between the ages of 10 and 14 (Classes 5 to 9), he regularly assisted in preparing and selling traditional Indian sweets like samosas and jalebis.
His academic path was not initially linear. Vaish scored just 48 percent in Class 5 at St Paul’s College. However, a significant turnaround followed, with his performance sharply improving to approximately 94 percent in Class 10 and 95 percent in Class 12. "From Class 5 to Class 9, I helped him prepare samosas, jalebis and other sweets. Later, financial support made a real difference to my education," Vaish recalled.
IIT Kanpur and Beyond
After completing Class 12, Vaish dedicated a year to rigorous preparation for engineering entrance examinations. His routine included six hours of coaching and nearly twelve hours of self-study, often extending late into the night. He credits mock tests for revealing areas needing improvement and guiding his focus.
His hard work culminated in securing an impressive Rank 9 in UPSEE 2019, topping Lucknow, and earning admission to IIT Kanpur’s Computer Science program in 2019 through JEE Advanced. He graduated in 2023 with an outstanding 9.14 CPI and was honored with the Academic Excellence Award.
During his time at IIT Kanpur, Vaish received crucial financial assistance through the PD Murti Scholarship and an AlphaGrep Merit Scholar grant, alleviating pressure on his family. He gained practical experience through internships at Securonix and Texas Instruments, contributed to research with institute director Professor Manindra Agrawal, and mentored over 3,000 students. "IIT Kanpur helped me realise how many paths were open to an undergraduate student," he stated.
Leading AI Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Today, as a lead engineer at Lumian.ai, Tejesh Vaish is at the forefront of AI development, building production AI agents for Amazon brands. His responsibilities encompass agent runtime, integrations, memory systems, permissions, approvals, and evaluation processes. "A user request only becomes useful when the system can reach the right tools and information, keep the right context and fail in a way people can understand," Vaish explained, highlighting his focus on practical, user-centric AI solutions.
Beyond his corporate role, Vaish is also an entrepreneur. He founded Homeo AI, a platform designed to assist homeopathy practitioners with reference searches, case notes, follow-up information, and document preparation. The inspiration for this venture arose after his mother's cancer diagnosis and subsequent remission around 2024. He emphasizes that Homeo AI serves as a support tool, with practitioners retaining full responsibility for clinical decisions.
Vaish's Advice for Aspiring Technologists
Tejesh Vaish firmly believes that an IIT degree is not the sole pathway to a successful career in artificial intelligence. He encourages students to build strong foundational skills in Python, SQL, data structures, probability, and linear algebra. He advises gaining practical experience through projects, internships, and contributions to open-source initiatives.
"An early result does not have to define you. Start with the next thing you can improve: one subject, one skill or one project," he counsels, offering a powerful message of perseverance and continuous self-improvement.