H-1B visa row: ‘Indians are also being laid off’ – Perplexity AI founder’s big statement amid Trump, Elon Musk’s stand – Newz9

H-1B visa row:The ongoing dispute concerning Indian immigrants and H-1B visas inside US President-elect Donald Trump’s circle lacks factual foundation, in response to Perplexity AI founder Aravind SrinivasThe IIT alumnus, at the moment on an H-1B visa within the US and with expertise at DeepMind and OpenAI, emphasizes that unauthorized immigration is the first concern, as a substitute of H-1B visas.
Aravind Srinivas, who established Perplexity AI (valued at $9 billion) after working at prestigious organizations like DeepMind, Google and OpenAI, has turn out to be concerned within the US immigration coverage dialogue.
“Clearly, it (H-1B visa row) surprised everybody online and it’s not exactly data driven–the claims that the H-1B or Indian immigrants are taking away the jobs of laid-off American tech workers,” he informed ET in an interview. “Indians are also being laid off and honestly, the real problem… is the illegal immigration. That’s what the government needs to cut down on,” he mentioned.
Donald Trump’s distinguished supporters are divided between MAGA (Make America Great Again) and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) factions. Whilst Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy assist H-1B visas and can lead the effectivity initiative, MAGA advocates Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer criticize them as rich tech executives disconnected from Trump supporters’ pursuits.
Also Read | H-1B visas: Approvals for Indian IT corporations half since 2015! Elon Musk’s Tesla exhibits vital enhance
According to Srinivas, the criticism of Sriram Krishnan, Trump’s AI coverage advisor choice, primarily based on his earlier professional-immigration statements is unwarranted. He anticipates the scenario will enhance.
“The numbers are just an order of magnitude higher there, and even in legal immigration, the problem is actually that the sectors in which people are getting laid off are not necessarily the ones that the Indian H-1B applications are coming. People getting laid off are not necessarily all engineers. If people actually took a look at the data and saw it for themselves, they wouldn’t be this angry,” Srinivas told the financial daily.
“I feel it’s going to all settle down. I think we should all feel good about someone as high caliber as Sriram influencing AI policy. People need to understand he has nothing to do with immigration, and stop taking his past tweets out of context!”
Meanwhile, in a surprising development, Donald Trump has aligned himself with Elon Musk’s stance on H-1B visas, whilst the contentious issue continued to create unrest amongst his MAGA supporters throughout the weekend, leading to anti-Indian sentiment.
The controversy intensified as American nationalists expressed their anger towards technology companies and Indian temporary workers, accusing them of misusing the H-1B program at the expense of US graduates.
MAGA supporters extended their hostility towards Indian-Americans and lawful immigrants, demanding their departure from the United States.
Trump’s unexpected support for Musk in this heated discussion contradicted his earlier opposition to H-1B visas. Speaking to the New York Post, he stated: “I’ve at all times been in favor of the (H-1B) visas,” leaving his MAGA supporters bewildered.