Ex-Google Employee Quits ₹9.3 Crore Job to Launch AI Startup After 'FOMO' Over OpenAI, Anthropic Pay

THE TECH JOB MARKET is undergoing a volatile shift, as the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has resulted in massive layoffs from tech firms. Job security, at a time like this, seems unstable at best.  In spite of all this, a 41-year-old techie has taken on a massive gamble — leaving his 9.3 crore job at Google to start his own AI startup. Yousuf Imran, a tech professional  from the San Francisco Bay Area, has revealed why he chose to leave behind his well-paid job at the tech giant.

Yousuf's Journey to Nearly $1 Million Tech Job

According to Business Insider, Yousuf moved from Bangladesh to New York when he was five years old. For over two decades, he worked in the sales industry before joining Google in 2020 as an account executive, helping clients implement Google’s AI machine learning solution. While his basic salary was around 170,000 US dollars, Yousuf boosted his earnings to around 986,000 US dollars (approximately Rs 9.32 crore) owing to heavy sales commissions.

However, despite the cushy payout, Yousuf couldn't help but make comparisons with AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI. He took notice of the “life-changing” stock options that these companies were offering, something even Google can't match. Moreover, the recent layoffs at the tech firm made Yousuf realize just how unstable job security in the industry is, seeing highly talented colleagues lose their jobs. 

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“I earned nearly $1 million last year as an account executive at Google, but I felt some 'FOMO' around the AI boom,” Yousuf remarked. 

Curiosity drew him towards the field of AI, and despite having no formal expertise in the area, he began tinkering with various tools like ChatGPT and Claude to develop small side projects. In the final months of his job at Google, he would allot a significant amount of time to experiment with AI models to build his own software applications.

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From Sales Executive to AI Entrepreneur 

In April 2026, Yousuf quit his job at Google and began working on his AI startup full-time. He had previously set aside $200,000 to fund his venture, in addition to saving up around $200,000 to cover his living costs whilst he worked on his startup. Yousuf has now launched Mangosteen Studios, which helps sales professionals in developing specialized AI-powered tools.

Looking back on his decision, Imran acknowledged that leaving Google involved sacrificing financial stability and access to advanced AI tools. Still, he said it felt like the right move, given his strong sales background and deep understanding of the field. “I wasn't a software engineer, but I spent 20 years learning the problems salespeople face. Ultimately, I recognized that leaving Google meant leaving a lot of things behind - both financially and professionally. But my confidence and domain expertise made me feel like this was the right moment to take the risk,” Yousuf said.

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

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