‘My kids probably shouldn't go to college’: Indian-origin MIT dropout behind Lyft, Presto

Rajat Suri advocates for real-world experience over college education, claiming AI can teach academic skills more effectively than traditional classrooms.

Rajat Suri, the Indian-origin co-founder of companies like Lyft and Presto, has sparked a debate online by claiming that a college education is becoming increasingly redundant in the age of AI. In fact, the millionaire went so far as to say that his children “probably shouldn't go to college”.

Rajat Suri claims that real world learnings can replace a college education.

In a post shared on the social media platform X, Suri argued that traditional college may no longer be the best way to acquire the skills and experience young people need.

Speaking from experience

Suri spoke from personal experience — after acquiring dual degrees in Economics and Engineering from the University of Waterloo, he joined the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a PhD/MBA programme.

He claimed, however, that real world work taught him more than any classroom learning. In fact, he eventually ended up dropping out of MIT to focus on entrepreneurship. Today, he is of the opinion that his children should probably skip college altogether.

“I went to MIT for a PhD / MBA after graduating with 2 degrees at Waterloo, and yet I'm thinking that my kids probably shouldn't go to college,” Suri said on X.

Real world vs classroom learning

He explained that at Waterloo, he had six different work placements, exposing him to different companies, cultures, managers and business models. He says those experiences were more valuable than much of his coursework.

“Most of what I learned at school was at my work terms at Waterloo. I worked at 6 different companies there, experienced vastly different work cultures, management styles, team dynamics and business models,” said Suri, who was born in Canada to Indian parents.

Suri said that today, AI can increasingly teach academic skills more effectively than any classroom.

Instead of spending four years taking classes, young people could potentially get work experience at different organisations directly, he argued.

“Wondering if we could just get that experience for kids without the unnecessary classwork that AI can teach better anyways?” Suri asked.

Rajat Suri’s own career is an example of learning by doing. He left MIT's PhD/MBA programme and pursued entrepreneurship. He later founded Presto and had also co-founded Zimride, which became Lyft. Today, he is the co-founder of Lima and Tribe Chat.

“(Btw I dropped out of MIT after realizing I'd learn way founding startups),” the Indian-origin, US-based founder concluded.