Why Meta reportedly offered nearly Rs 800 crore to IIT Kanpur alumnus Trapit Bansal. (Photo: LinkedIn) Artificial intelligence is creating a new generation of global technology stars, and one Indian-origin researcher has recently become the centre of attention.Last year, Trapit Bansal made headlines after reports suggested that Meta offered him a compensation package worth nearly Rs 800 crore to join its newly created AI division.The number itself grabbed attention.
But a closer look at his educational and professional journey reveals a far more important story.Behind the headlines lies more than a decade of higher education, research, internships and specialised work in artificial intelligence.The journey began at IIT Kanpur Trapit Bansal completed an integrated M.Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics from IIT Kanpur between 2007 and 2012.Unlike many technology professionals who begin with a traditional computer science degree, Bansal built a strong foundation in mathematics and statistics, two disciplines that form the backbone of modern artificial intelligence.After graduating from IIT Kanpur, he joined the Machine Learning Lab at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, where he worked as a research assistant for more than two years.His early research focused on Bayesian modelling and inference methods, giving him exposure to advanced machine learning techniques long before the current AI boom.From India to the United States for higher studies Bansal later moved to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to pursue higher education in computer science.
