Elite students pursue AI startups over Big Tech and Wall Street internships
A report from Xin Zhiyuan, citing The Wall Street Journal, says students from Ivy League schools, Stanford and MIT turned down internships at major technology companies and Wall Street investment banks for AI startup work at San Francisco Hacker Houses. Princeton student Charles Muehlberger reportedly founded an AI startup within four weeks, took a year off and pitched potential customers in Barcelona on deploying open-source AI models locally. 36Kr republished the article with authorization; it is not independent corroboration, and the supplied reports do not quantify the scale of the student migration.
The report characterizes the choices as a structural shift in elite talent from large technology companies and stable salaries toward startups and equity risk. It also highlights the uncertainty of that path, noting that most AI startups may fail and that returning to conventional careers can be difficult.
ASI启示录 2026-10-24 11:42 北京
最聪明的年轻人，正在车库里赌未来
新智元报道
去华尔街、大厂还是去车库，这代美国大学生做出了自己的选择。
去SpaceX，或者Google，拿一份安稳、体面、年薪六位数的实习offer；还是一头扎进旧金山拥挤的「黑客屋」（Hacker House），和一群同样疯狂的年轻人挤上下铺，前途未卜。
#Hacker House#Charles Muehlberger#Princeton University#SpaceX#Google#Stanford University#MIT#Princeton AI Lab