Paramdeep Singh: The IIT Delhi Technologist Architecting Enterprise AI at Shorthills AI
In the complex and rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence, Paramdeep Singh stands out as a technologist, strategist, and serial entrepreneur with a remarkable track record. As President and Co-founder of Shorthills AI, he leverages his deep expertise in Mathematics, Computing, and Finance to build high-impact Generative AI solutions for enterprises. This venture follows his decade-long journey co-founding and scaling the EdTech market leader, EduPristine, to a successful acquisition.
With roots in IIT Delhi and IIM Indore, Paramdeep embodies a rare blend of technical depth and strategic business building. How does his background shape his approach to AI? What insights did he gain from scaling a global EdTech company? And what problems is Shorthills AI tackling in the enterprise AI space?
I recently had an in-depth conversation with Paramdeep Singh and his long-time co-founder, Pawan Prabhat, on the Founder Thesis podcast. We explored their journey, the intricacies of AI model evolution, and their vision for the future of AI in business.
Check out the video of the conversation here or read on for insights.
This article delves into the career, expertise, and vision of Paramdeep Singh, offering a comprehensive look at one of the key figures driving enterprise AI innovation in India.
🎓 A Foundation in Math, Computing & Finance
Paramdeep's journey began with a strong academic foundation, setting the stage for a career at the intersection of technology and business strategy.
IIT Delhi (1996-2001): He pursued an integrated B.Tech & M.Tech degree in Mathematics & Computing, equipping him with rigorous analytical and technical skills.
Early Tech Experience (2001-2003): His first role was as a Software Engineer at FirstRain, where he designed and implemented core technology modules, gaining hands-on experience in building software systems.
"Correct that's right? So both of tech I worked with a startup called first train..."
IIM Indore (2003-2005): Paramdeep further honed his business acumen with an MBA focused on Finance. It was at IIM Indore that his long-standing collaboration with Pawan Prabhat began.
"So we go a long way in terms of friendship. So so we in fact, both of us are classmates. Ah from IIM Indore... that's where... our sort of journey... together for a long time started... we published a couple of ah research papers together..."
Diverse Pre-Entrepreneurial Roles: Before co-founding EduPristine, Paramdeep gained valuable experience across different domains:
Consulting: At IBM Business Consulting and later Accenture, he focused on technology transformation, strategy, and operational improvements for large clients.
Investment Banking: He worked alongside Pawan at Standard Chartered - STCI Capital Markets, gaining exposure to IPOs, PE placements, and VC funding.
This diverse background provided a unique perspective on both building technology and applying it strategically to solve business problems.
📈 EduPristine: Co-Founding and Scaling an EdTech Leader (2008-2018)
In 2008, Paramdeep Singh co-founded EduPristine with Pawan Prabhat and others, driven by a shared passion for finance and data, and a perceived gap in the education market.
The Opportunity: They observed that most finance education was highly theoretical, lacking the practical skills demanded by the industry.
"What we had found is that most of the courses tended to be very theoretical in Asia and there was a large gap between what practically the industry wanted and what the colleges provided... So so all of those courses tend[ed] to be very sort of professional orient[ed] very job orient[ed]."
Building EduPristine:
Practical Curriculum: Focused on professional certifications (FRM, CFA) and job-oriented skills like Financial Modeling, bridging the theory-practice gap.
Innovative Delivery: EduPristine was an early adopter of online and blended learning models, offering purely online, classroom, and hybrid options from the outset using nascent tools like DimDim before moving to more stable platforms like GoToWebinar.
"We were the first ones to sort of start using online training... when we started there was practically no software that was available that was sort of stable and affordable."
Conservative Growth & Funding: The company was bootstrapped profitably for its first couple of years before raising Angel funding (from investors including Dr. Mark Mobius and Rajesh Sehgal) and a Series A from Accel Partners to fuel expansion. Their growth philosophy remained focused on profitability.
"We ran our business profitably for for a couple of years... and that's when we thought sort of it made sense to invest and then double down on the... progress that we had."
Scaling Operations: As the company grew globally, running thousands of batches concurrently, Paramdeep emphasized building strong systems and leadership.
"...we wanted to build the right processes so that sort of the company was not dependent on Pawan and me... It had to run its own... our company was never like... a founder company. It was always like a professional organization that's running."
Market Leadership & Exit: EduPristine achieved an impressive 80%+ YoY CAGR for 10 years, becoming a market leader in its niche. This success attracted strategic investor Becker Professional Education (part of Adtalem Global Education, NYSE: ATGE), leading to an investment in 2016 and a full acquisition, with the founders transitioning out by early 2018.
Paramdeep's role involved not just co-founding but actively leading the company's growth, operational scaling, and strategic direction throughout this highly successful decade.
⚙️ Shorthills AI: Architecting the Enterprise AI Future (2018-Present)
Following the EduPristine exit, Paramdeep's desire to return to his technology roots, combined with the burgeoning potential of AI and Machine Learning, led to the creation of Shorthills AI in June 2018, co-founded with Pawan Prabhat.
The Mission: As President, Paramdeep focuses on "recruiting and managing high impact technology team[s]" to deliver cutting-edge digital services, with a strong specialization in Generative AI and LLMs for enterprise clients.
Key Focus Areas & Contributions:
Enterprise AI Solutions: Shorthills AI tackles complex business problems where generic AI solutions fall short. Paramdeep mentioned working on projects like automating accounting processes, analyzing complex contracts for risks (e.g., for oil companies), and optimizing media campaign generation.
"We thought that sort of most of these skills [developed for BestViews Reviews] were already generative in nature and a lot of large enterprises and businesses could benefit... That's where our focus currently... we want to use our sort of capabilities around generative Ai To Help solve tough business Problems."
Product Leadership (BestViews Reviews): Paramdeep also serves as Chief Product Officer for BestViews Reviews (a Shorthills AI venture), building an ML-based platform that analyzes millions of product reviews to guide consumer purchasing decisions. This provides a real-world testbed for their AI technologies.
Deep Technical Expertise: Paramdeep possesses deep knowledge of the AI/ML stack, including LLMs, AWS, and SageMaker. On the podcast, he clearly articulated the evolution of AI models:
"So when we started [NLP work years ago], it was like literally a word to vec... a word could be converted into numbers and now you have... models that can literally... Create vectors out of hundreds and thousands of words... the models have become larger but they used to be there for the last four and a half five years."
He also provided insightful explanations of neural network architectures (RNNs, CNNs, Transformers) and the significance of the "Attention" mechanism.
"...people came up with multiple kinds of architectures... initial architectures like RNN and CNN... each worked on a certain type of problem... And now you have this transformer architecture... propose[d] in this seminar paper called 'Attention is all you need'..."
Pragmatic AI Implementation: Paramdeep emphasized the practical challenges and necessities of deploying AI in the enterprise, particularly the need for human oversight:
"...most of our sort of analys[e]s would have a human in the loop to make sure that things do make sense... that this one key learning from generative way [AI] that at this point of time at least you need a human in the loop For the quality to make sense."
Building High-Impact Teams: A key part of his role at Shorthills AI involves identifying, recruiting, and managing the specialized talent required to build sophisticated AI solutions.
The Vision: Shorthills AI aims to be a leader in high-impact digital services, leveraging their deep understanding of Generative AI to deliver tangible results for enterprise clients. The focus is on solving challenging problems where advanced AI can make a significant difference.
✨ Paramdeep Singh: The Technologist, Strategist & Builder
Paramdeep Singh's career showcases a powerful combination of attributes:
Analytical Rigor: His IIT Delhi background in Mathematics & Computing provides a strong foundation for understanding and building complex AI models.
Strategic Vision: Experience in consulting and investment banking, coupled with his IIM Indore MBA, informs his ability to connect technology to business objectives.
Operational Excellence: Co-leading EduPristine's decade of high growth demonstrates his capability in scaling operations and building robust, process-driven organizations.
Technical Leadership: His current role involves not only strategy but also managing technology teams and possessing hands-on knowledge of AI/ML tools and concepts (LLMs, AWS, SageMaker). He holds certifications in Generative AI Fundamentals and GenAI with LLMs.
Clear Communicator: He has a knack for explaining complex technical concepts (like neural network architectures or LLM evolution) in an accessible manner.
🚀 The Road Ahead
Paramdeep Singh represents a vital profile in today's tech ecosystem: the leader who possesses both deep technical understanding and proven business-building experience. His journey from software engineering through consulting and finance to co-founding two significant technology ventures provides a unique perspective.
At Shorthills AI, he is applying this blend of skills to the frontier of Generative AI, focusing on delivering real-world value for enterprises. As AI continues to permeate every industry, the ability to not just understand the technology but to architect and implement it effectively – as Paramdeep Singh does – will be increasingly critical.
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