About
Nilkanth Patel has a background in journalism and reporting before transitioning to software development, where he has focused on frontend and design work.
Nilkanth Patel @nilkanthjp
one thing we underestimated going into this project was how much of the work had nothing to do with the model itself. most of the gains came from building the right evaluation loop, curating production traces, and deciding exactly what behaviors the model should learn. that's https://t.co/mY5Zx7LBSL
Jul 31, 2026 Β· β₯ 1
Nilkanth Patel @nilkanthjp
sometimes the true value of AI is eliminating the need to interact with shitty software, not eliminating the software itself. supply chain is just a cesspool of aforementioned shitty software and it will take eons to get rid of it all. but in the mean time, we can 10x the https://t.co/pnDoZNTMSU
Jul 28, 2026 Β· β₯ 1
Nilkanth Patel @nilkanthjp
i, for one, would love to be oneshotted https://t.co/vZL1wEvKWk
Jul 28, 2026
Founder at HeraldYC W19
Intro paths
Nilkanth went through Y Combinator (Winter 2019) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
In turn, Nilkanth can intro founders to Herald's investors below.
Herald's investors Β· 4
Co-founders at Herald
Experience
- PalletCTOcurrent2025 β presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- PalletHead of Product Engineering2025San Francisco Bay Area
- DoorDashSoftware Engineer2021 β 2025San Francisco Bay Area
- Herald - heraldhq.comCo-Founder2018 β 2021San Francisco Bay Area
- QuantcastManager, Frontend Engineering2017 β 2018San Francisco, California
- QuantcastSenior Product Designer2016 β 2017San Francisco Bay Area
- QuantcastProduct Designer2015 β 2016San Francisco Bay Area
- The New York TimesFreelance Graphics Editor2014 β 2015New York City Metropolitan Area
- The New York TimesGraphics Intern2014New York City Metropolitan Area
- The New YorkerEditorial Production Associate2011 β 2014New York City Metropolitan Area
- The New YorkerWeb Intern2011
- Columbia Daily SpectatorOnline Editor2010
- Columbia Daily SpectatorMultimedia Editor2009
- Columbia Video NetworkMultimedia Assistant2007 β 2009
- Mayor of New YorkPress Research Intern2009
Education
- Columbia UniversityBachelor of Science (B.S.), Biomedical Engineering2007 β 2011
- Y CombinatorYC W19 Batch2019
- Columbia UniversityMaster of Science (M.S.), Journalism2013 β 2015
- Columbia UniversityMaster of Science (M.S.), Computer Science2013 β 2015
- Don Bosco Preparatory High SchoolHigh School2003 β 2007
Skills & more
+9 more
Microsoft ExcelIllustratorMacWeb DesignLayoutFinal Cut ProAdobe PhotoshopOutlookVideo EditingLanguages Gujarati
- Triplebyte Certified Frontend Engineer β Triplebyte
From Nilkanth's professional profile.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,668
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 8,661 more
Columbia University mafia166
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 159 more
DoorDash mafia22
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 15 more
Same school
Also attended Columbia University686
+ 680 more
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Pallet2
Also worked at DoorDash65
+ 59 more
Also worked at Quantcast15
+ 9 more
Also worked at The New York Times35
+ 29 more