Sarthak Karandikar
Founding Member at a Stealth Startup
Building a vertical AI platform for US Commercial Real Estate focusing on quant-style matchmaking for borrowers and lenders.
Intro
I'm Sarthak Karandikar, a Founding Member at a San Francisco-based stealth startup where we are re-architecting the US Commercial Real Estate industry through a vertical AI platform. My journey as a builder started at 15 with my first funded startup, and since then, I've moved from scaling open-source AI assistants like 'Sentient' to solving deep 'technical debt' in the CRE space. I'm passionate about moving beyond simple chat interfaces to proactive AI agents that actually execute work and solve 'PDF Purgatory' for lenders and borrowers. I value first-principles thinking and believe in building high-impact technology without waiting for traditional credentials. I’m always looking to connect with real estate sponsors, institutional investors, and fellow AI researchers who want to move past legacy systems and build something deterministic and scalable.
Networking
What I can offer
- ›Technical expertise in AI agent workflows
- ›Bridge between complex engineering and business application
- ›Experience scaling open-source projects
What I'm looking for
- ›Real estate sponsors
- ›Institutional investors
- ›AI researchers
- ›Fellow founders
Best fit for
Focus
Current interests
Core competencies
Background
Career
Serial entrepreneur since age 15; transitioned from content and vegan products to AI engineering and open-source development, now building vertical AI for Commercial Real Estate.
Education
B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, Pune Vidhyarthi Griha's College of Engineering and Technology (2021 – 2025)
Achievements
- ›Scaled 'Sentient' AI to 700+ GitHub stars and 200+ paying users
- ›Founded first funded startup at age 15
- ›Granted Indian patent and published three research papers
- ›Generated 14M+ total views across social media projects
Opinions
- True learning happens by breaking and fixing things rather than classroom consumption
- You do not need Ivy League or MAANG credentials to build 'crazy' things
- Industry infrastructure like CRE must be rebuilt from the ground up rather than patched
Personality
Communication style
Professional yet provocative and highly analytical, using a problem-solution narrative structure.
Formality — 7/10
Vocabulary