At just 19, Dhravya Shah has taken an unusual path from preparing for the IIT entrance exam to building an AI startup in Silicon Valley. The young Indian entrepreneur dropped out of his B.Tech at IIT Bombay and went on to build Supermemory, an AI memory company that has raised $3 million in funding. Shah's journey began while he was preparing for the IIT entrance examination. During that time, he started building a small AI tool as a side project. The money he earned from the project helped him move to the United States.
He later secured an O-1 visa, which is given to people who demonstrate extraordinary ability in areas such as technology, science, business or the arts. After moving to the US, Shah set himself a demanding challenge: build and launch one new product every week for 40 consecutive weeks.
Meet Dhravya Shah, a 19-year-old Indian guy who dropped out of his https://t.co/BC6fLkcQNf at IIT Bombay and just built one of Silicon Valley's fastest growing AI startups called https://t.co/1O76MrrBcZ, which has now raised $3 million USD.
— Vikas Alwys (@VikasAlwys) September 28, 2026
While preparing for the IIT entrance… pic.twitter.com/eubqAi4eWy
The experiment gave him a chance to test several ideas quickly instead of spending months searching for the perfect one. One of those weekly projects eventually became Supermemory.
Supermemory is designed as an AI memory system. It allows AI applications to work with information such as emails, files, chats, PDFs and other documents, helping them retain and use information across interactions.
The startup has now raised $3 million from investors associated with major technology companies, including Google, OpenAI and Cloudflare.
Shah's story highlights how experimenting with multiple ideas can sometimes lead to an unexpected opportunity. What started as a challenge to build something every week eventually turned into a startup attracting investment in the competitive AI industry.
