Two IIT Delhi graduates have left high-paying technology jobs to pursue entrepreneurship, and their latest venture has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding. 

Pratyush Saini and Anirudha Kulkarni are the co-founders of ByteAsk, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup developing coding agents for C and C++ programming languages. The company has received backing from Y Combinator, the US-based startup accelerator.

The founders previously earned a combined annual salary of more than Rs 1.3 crore. Saini, who graduated in computer science from IIT Delhi in 2023, secured a Rs 50 lakh-per-annum role at AI cybersecurity company Simbian in 2024. Kulkarni, who completed a five-year BTech-MTech programme in 2024, joined Quantbox Research with an annual package of Rs 88 lakh.

In December 2025, the duo left their jobs to launch LawSutra, an AI-powered legal research platform designed for Indian lawyers. The startup aimed to simplify time-consuming legal research by using AI to support lawyers’ workflows.

Saini initially kept his decision to leave his job from his parents. He later explained that he shared the news after the venture began gaining traction. The early progress helped reassure his family that the decision was backed by a viable business idea.

LawSutra was acquired by legal information provider Manupatra in mid-2026. The acquisition gave the founders an opportunity to pursue another idea, this time in software development. The financial details of the sale were not disclosed.

The founders established ByteAsk in June 2026 after exploring new business ideas. The startup is developing specialised AI coding agents for C and C++, languages widely used in areas such as embedded systems, robotics, automotive technology and semiconductor engineering.

The founders believe general-purpose AI coding tools still struggle with low-level programming, where errors can affect system performance, security and hardware control. ByteAsk aims to address these challenges with tools designed specifically for these programming environments.

ByteAsk’s selection for Y Combinator provides funding and access to a global startup network. The $1 million pre-seed backing will help the company develop its product and pursue growth opportunities.

The startup’s progress reflects growing investor interest in specialised AI tools. Its next challenge will be to demonstrate that its coding agents can deliver reliable results for developers working on complex systems.

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