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Tech

Dwarkesh Patel: AI Podcaster and Author

Description
Human Profile
Name:Dwarkesh Patel
Birthday:August 19, 2000 (age 25 years), Born in Vadodara, India
Education:Central High School (Diploma)
University of Texas at Austin (BS), Computer Science
Subscribers:1.2M
Views:920,911,330
YouTube Revenue:$920.9K - $4.6M
Videos:842
Channel Created:June 2017

Overview

Dwarkesh Patel is an Indian-born American podcaster, author, and essayist, recognized for The Dwarkesh Podcast, where he conducts extensively researched, long-form interviews with leading figures across artificial intelligence, technology, and science, and co-authored The Scaling Era.

Latest News (Feb 14, 2026): Dwarkesh Patel recently released a high-profile interview with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to discuss AI scaling limits and AGI timelines following the company's major Series G funding round. He has also been active in publishing technical deep-dives and viral clips from his early February conversation with Elon Musk focused on orbital data centers and the future of xAI.

Early Life and Education

Dwarkesh Patel was born on August 19, 2000, in India. He spent his early childhood in Barodhra, a city in the Indian state of Gujarat. His father is a physician and his mother studied accounting and education. At the age of eight or nine, Patel moved to the United States with his family after his father obtained an H1-B visa. Due to his father’s work, the family relocated frequently, living in North Dakota, West Virginia, Maryland, and Texas.

Patel attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied computer science. During his time at the university, he was a student of computational complexity theorist Scott Aaronson. Patel graduated in December 2021.

Career Beginnings

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, while still a student at the University of Texas at Austin, Patel began his podcast from his dorm room. Feeling intellectually isolated, he started by cold-emailing author and economist Bryan Caplan after reading his book, The Case Against Education. Caplan agreed to be interviewed, becoming Patel’s first guest, assuming Patel already had an established podcast.

Initially, the podcast was named “The Lunar Society,” a name inspired by the 18th-century British intellectual group, the Lunar Society of Birmingham. Following the interview with Caplan, who was impressed with the conversation, he recommended the podcast to economist Tyler Cowen, who also became an early guest. Patel continued to produce the podcast on the side while completing his college education.

The Dwarkesh Podcast

Patel’s podcast, now known as the Dwarkesh Podcast, features long-form interviews with leading figures in science, technology, history, and economics. The show is particularly noted for its in-depth exploration of artificial intelligence. Patel is recognized for his extensive research and preparation for each interview, which can involve weeks of studying academic papers and consulting with experts. This rigorous approach allows for nuanced and technical discussions with his guests.

The podcast has grown organically and attracted a significant following, including influential figures in the technology industry. Guests on the podcast have included technology leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Satya Nadella; AI researchers like Andrej Karpathy and Ilya Sutskever; and political figures including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Major Works and Recognition

In addition to his podcast, Patel co-authored the book The Scaling Era: An Oral History of AI, 2019-2025 with Gavin Leech. The book is primarily composed of interviews from the Dwarkesh Podcast with key figures in contemporary AI research. He also writes essays on topics such as technological acceleration and talent development.

Patel’s work has received significant recognition. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in AI by Time magazine in 2024. His interviews have been praised by figures such as Jeff Bezos and have been referenced in the U.S. Congressional Record. The Economist has described him as having “rose from nowhere to become Silicon Valley’s favourite podcaster”.

Personal Life

As of 2024, Patel resides in San Francisco. He has publicly stated that he obtained his U.S. green card shortly before he was no longer eligible for child-status.