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.Jain later recalled that he struggled with the paper and knew that his performance had not been good enough.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.
The JEE setback changed his route
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.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.He also made another attempt at JEE, this time preparing from his hostel room.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.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.
From engineering graduate to researcher
Jain later pursued a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Saarland. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at New York University’s Courant Institute.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.His work was published at major computer science conferences, including ICLR, NeurIPS and CVPR.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.
Returning to IIT Bombay as a professor
In 2016, about 14 years after his first JEE attempt, Jain joined IIT Bombay as an assistant professor.His teaching included computer vision and the CS763 course. He also supervised PhD students.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.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.
From IIT Bombay to Apple and AI
Jain later moved between academic research and industry.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.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.Jain’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.
What happened after the JEE result
Jain’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.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.He instead continued with computer science at RV College of Engineering, pursued doctoral research and built a career in computer vision and AI.More than a decade after his first JEE attempt, he joined IIT Bombay as a faculty member.An entrance examination can shape a student’s immediate options. Jain’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.Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information and inputs provided by the source. TOI Education has not independently verified all claims mentioned above.
