{"id":22891,"date":"2026-09-11T10:55:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=22891"},"modified":"2026-09-11T10:55:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:55:59","slug":"he-failed-jee-and-gave-up-an-iit-seat-years-later-arjun-jain-worked-on-apples-self-driving-technology-built-ai-for-mercedes-and-became-an-iit-bombay-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=22891","title":{"rendered":"He failed JEE and gave up an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain worked on Apple\u2019s self-driving technology, built AI for Mercedes and became an IIT Bombay professor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134057944,imgsize-80765,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/arjun-jain.jpg\" alt=\"He failed JEE and gave up an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain worked on Apple\u2019s self-driving technology, built AI for Mercedes and became an IIT Bombay professor\" title=\"He failed JEE and turned down an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain became an IIT Bombay professor. (Photo: X post)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"He failed JEE and turned down an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain became an IIT Bombay professor. (Photo: X post)\">He failed JEE and turned down an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain became an IIT Bombay professor. (Photo: X post)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2001, Arjun Jain appeared for the JEE examination after spending two years preparing for it. He had given up activities such as hockey, quizzes and debates to concentrate on his studies.<!-- --> But the examination did not go as he had expected.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>Jain later recalled that he struggled with the paper and knew that his performance had not been good enough.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>The setback changed his plans. It did not, however, end his interest in computer science or research. Years later, Jain returned to IIT Bombay, this time as a professor working in computer vision.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>The JEE setback changed his route<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>After his first unsuccessful attempt, Jain could not afford another year of coaching in Kota. <!-- -->He enrolled in Computer Science and Engineering at RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>The decision turned out to be important for his academic career. At college, Jain began exploring computer science beyond his coursework and reading research papers published in IEEE journals.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>He also made another attempt at JEE, this time preparing from his hostel room.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>The second attempt resulted in a rank of 3,363. It was enough to secure him a seat in Petrochemical Engineering at IIT-BHU. Jain decided not to take the offer.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>He had already spent a year studying computer science and did not want to switch to a branch that did not interest him. Instead, he completed his engineering degree and continued towards research.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>From engineering graduate to researcher<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Jain later pursued a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Saarland. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at New York University&#8217;s Courant Institute.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>His research centred on computer vision and deep learning. <!-- -->During his postdoctoral work, he collaborated with researchers including Yann LeCun on methods for estimating human poses using deep learning.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>His work was published at major computer science conferences, including ICLR, NeurIPS and CVPR.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>The research also led to an entrepreneurial venture. Jain founded Perceptive Code, a company built around technology developed from his work on human pose estimation. Its intellectual property was later acquired by Mercedes, where the technology found applications in vehicle systems.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Returning to IIT Bombay as a professor<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, about 14 years after his first JEE attempt, Jain joined IIT Bombay as an assistant professor.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>His teaching included computer vision and the CS763 course. He also supervised PhD students.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>There was an obvious connection to his own past. Jain was now teaching at the institute that he had once tried to enter as an undergraduate.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/>His academic work also created another connection with his doctoral institution. One of the PhD students he mentored at IIT Bombay, Rishabh Dabral, later became a professor and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, where Jain had completed his PhD.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>From IIT Bombay to Apple and AI<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Jain later moved between academic research and industry.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/>He worked as a senior researcher at Apple, where his work included computer vision and sensing technologies for vehicles. He subsequently founded Fast Code AI in Bengaluru and serves as its founder and chief scientist.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/>The company works on research-driven AI applications for enterprises, including video generation, large language model post-training, time-series models and vision-language-action systems.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/>Jain&#8217;s professional profile also includes an adjunct faculty role at the Indian Institute of Science, along with advisory and research positions in the AI sector.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>What happened after the JEE result<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Jain&#8217;s story is often framed around his failure in JEE and his later return to IIT Bombay. But the more significant part of the story is what he chose to do after the examination.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"59\"\/>His first attempt did not work out. The second gave him an opportunity to enter an IIT, but he declined it because the available branch did not match his interests.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"62\"\/>He instead continued with computer science at RV College of Engineering, pursued doctoral research and built a career in computer vision and AI.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"64\"\/>More than a decade after his first JEE attempt, he joined IIT Bombay as a faculty member.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"66\"\/>An entrance examination can shape a student&#8217;s immediate options. Jain&#8217;s career is an example of how much can happen after that point, particularly when a student continues to pursue a field that genuinely interests them.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"68\"\/><span class=\"strong em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Disclaimer: <\/span><span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">This article is based on publicly available information and inputs provided by the source. <\/span><span class=\"strong em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">TOI Education <\/span><span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">has not independently verified all claims mentioned above.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/education\/news\/he-failed-jee-and-gave-up-an-iit-seat-years-later-arjun-jain-worked-on-apples-self-driving-technology-built-ai-for-mercedes-and-became-an-iit-bombay-professor\/articleshow\/134054384.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He failed JEE and turned down an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain became an IIT Bombay professor. (Photo: X post) In 2001, Arjun Jain appeared for the JEE examination after spending two years preparing for it. He had given up activities such as hockey, quizzes and debates to concentrate on his studies. But the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"He failed JEE and turned down an IIT seat; years later, Arjun Jain became an IIT Bombay professor. (Photo: X post) In 2001, Arjun Jain appeared for the JEE examination after spending two years preparing for it. He had given up activities such as hockey, quizzes and debates to concentrate on his studies. But the [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":3,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arjun-jain.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}