When Niki Parmar didn't make it into the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was a blow. For many Indian students, IIT is the ticket to a dream career. But for Niki, that door closing pushed her onto a different path.
"I thought, 'That's it. I missed my chance,'" she recalls. "But then I realized, if I can't take the traditional route, I'll create my own."
And that's precisely what she did. From teaching herself artificial intelligence (AI) in her family's small home in Pune to becoming the youngest and only non-PhD member of Google's AI research team at 24, Niki has carved her own space in one of the most transformative fields of our time.
Niki co-authored the groundbreaking "Attention Is All You Need" paper, which laid the foundation for the Transformer model-a fundamental building block behind modern AI systems like ChatGPT. This paper has shaped much of the AI we see today, from language models to everyday applications.
She is now the co-founder of Essential AI and is using her expertise in AI to create tools that help businesses work faster and smarter. The startup is backed by Google, Nvidia, and AMD.
Curiosity Beyond the Classroom
Growing up in a lower-middle-class family in Pune, Niki was always curious. "There wasn't anyone to guide me into engineering or AI," she says. "So, I had to figure it out by myself."
Her parents encouraged her to explore her interests, leading Niki to coding and building web apps independently. "I was always tinkering, trying to understand how things worked," she recalls.
Niki's drive to carve her own path was deeply influenced by her mother. Her mother had once dreamed of becoming an architect but couldn't pursue it due to life's circumstances. That unfulfilled ambition left a mark on Niki. "My mom always pushed me to chase what I wanted," Niki recalls. "She couldn't follow her own dream, but she ensured I had the freedom to pursue mine."
The setback of not getting into IIT didn't derail her. Instead, she enrolled in the Pune Institute of Technology and began teaching herself AI. "I didn't have anyone walking me through it," she says. "I just dove in, learning by doing-taking online courses and working on side projects."
Her early foray into AI wasn't guided by a mentor or a roadmap-it was driven by pure curiosity and a desire to push beyond the limits of what she knew.
A Financial Leap of Faith
After graduation, Niki knew she wanted to pursue a Master's degree in AI in the U.S., but it wouldn't be easy. She had secured a loan from HDFC Bank, but things took a turn when she landed in the U.S...
"I arrived, and my dad called to tell me the bank wasn't releasing the funds," she remembers. "I had no money, no place to stay, and no idea how I'd pay for my tuition."
Her father and uncle scrambled to borrow money from friends and family to keep her afloat during those early months. "It was a huge sacrifice," Niki says, clearly moved. "My dad wouldn't have done that for himself, but he ensured I could keep going."
Despite the uncertainty, Niki pushed forward. Her talent didn't go unnoticed-her professor sponsored her second year, and she secured an internship that allowed her to pay off the loans before she even graduated.
Breaking into Google
At 24, Niki joined Google, becoming the youngest member of her team-and the only one without a PhD. She was stepping into a world filled with some of the brightest minds in AI.
"It was a little intimidating at first," she admits. "But it was also an incredible learning experience. I was constantly surrounded by people pushing the boundaries of what AI could do."
Not content with sticking to her assigned tasks, Niki started diving deeper into the emerging Transformer model on her own initiative. "No one told me to work on it," she says. I just wanted to see how far it could go."
Her self-driven work paid off. Niki applied the Transformer architecture across different modalities, including images, audio, and even 3D vision, pushing the boundaries of what AI models could achieve.
Even after co-authoring the influential Transformer paper, Niki doesn't believe she's "made it." Her drive comes from a place of constant curiosity. "There's always more to learn," she says. "I don't want to be remembered just for the Transformer model. I'm always looking for the next challenge."
For Niki, AI is about exploring the technology's untapped potential. "We're still in the early stages," she says. There's so much more to explore, and I want to be part of that future."
This is the first of a two-part interview with Niki. Next week, we'll explore her views on AI's role in society, the clash between big tech and disruptors, and whether India will lead in AI innovation or remain a consumer.