From Olympic Table Tennis Star to Transformative AI Product Manager: Meet Dr. Vinesh Sukumar - Seite 2

Dr. Sukumar's visionary approach and relentless pursuit of excellence has propelled the world into a new era of powerful on-device AI applications, making our daily interactions more seamless, efficient and enjoyable.

Join us, as we explore his insatiable curiosity and how it propelled him to new heights, now reshaping the fabric of technology today.

Lara Piu (LP): Did you always want to be an engineer?

Dr. Vinesh Sukumar (VS): Growing up in southern India, I was constantly tinkering with gadgets. And I especially loved to visit my grandparents in Tamil Nadu in the summers because they had old fans, radios and tube lights that I would tear apart. But I developed a reputation for breaking things… and setting them on fire, so my grandparents started to lock things up. That's how I got my nickname Curious George, and it's also triggered my passion in engineering.

LP: How did table tennis come into the picture?

VS: After a few "Curious George" incidents, my mother felt the need to push me outside to keep the house safe, so she encouraged me to try sports, and table tennis ended up being my choice. With few excellent coaches and mentors, I had the incredible opportunity to play at the national level and represent my country at the Olympics.

But after a while, as many dads do, mine said, "I think enough of playing, you should start to focus more on academics, to put some food on the table."

So I transitioned my focus to academics and slowly got into college; but I still played on the weekends with friends and today, I coach kids in the Bay Area to pass on my passion for table tennis and hopefully create the next U.S. table tennis champion.

LP: Dad's good advice eventually led you here. Tell us about life as a Qualcomm inventor.

VS: Working at Qualcomm Technologies has been an exceptional experience. The company provides enormous opportunities to explore and innovate in AI. I appreciate the dynamic tension within the larger team, which challenges me to think outside the box and brings out the best in me. Qualcomm Technologies' focus on AI, alongside investments in hardware, systems, research, software and ecosystem relationships, makes it an exciting and supportive environment to work in.