IIT grad Vidit Aatrey quits IAS dream, builds Meesho into Rs 30,000-cr empire
Vidit Aatrey, an IIT Delhi graduate, pivoted from a traditional career path to co-found the e-commerce platform Meesho. Despite early failures, the company has grown into a major player with a market capitalization of approximately ₹95,000 crore.
Why it matters
It highlights the evolution of India's startup ecosystem and the shift in career aspirations for top-tier engineering graduates.
There was a time when a government job seemed like the obvious destination for Vidit Aatrey. Coming from a middle-class family with parents in government service, the civil services was among the career paths his family had in mind. But the IIT Delhi graduate eventually took a route that was far removed from the one expected of him- and built Meesho, a company that would go on to reshape India's e-commerce landscape.Today, Aatrey is the co-founder and CEO of Meesho, which he started with fellow IIT Delhi alumnus Sanjeev Barnwal. The company has since grown from a small social-commerce experiment into a listed e-commerce platform. In FY25, Meesho's net merchandise value was close to Rs 30,000 crore, while its operating revenue stood at ₹9,390 crore.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in