'From delivery bike to high AI traffic': This Bengaluru-based founder was once a Zomato delivery boy, now owns an million-dollar startup

A few years ago, Suraj Biswas was navigating Bengaluru's streets as a food delivery rider while teaching himself coding between orders. Today, he is the founder of Assessli, an artificial intelligence startup recognised among the top AI ventures on global startup platform F6S. His journey from delivering food to building AI-powered solutions highlights how access to learning, determination and flexible work opportunities helped turn a side hustle into a technology venture, reported TOI.

Back home, his father worked as a labourer and carried a simple but powerful dream — that his son would one day become a doctor. However, the realities of higher education soon made that dream difficult to pursue. Tuition fees, rent, food and transportation costs mounted quickly, and Suraj realised that waiting for circumstances to improve was not a viable strategy.

To support himself, he signed up as a Zomato delivery partner.

A Job That Paid the Bills — and Bought Time

The gig reportedly earned him between ₹40,000 and ₹50,000 a month. But the biggest advantage was not the income alone. The flexible nature of delivery work allowed him to organise his schedule around his studies and personal learning goals.

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Unlike many conventional part-time jobs, the role gave him the freedom to decide when he worked and when he learned.

Learning to Code Between Deliveries

Armed with a smartphone, a laptop and an internet connection, Suraj began teaching himself coding. Online tutorials, open-source communities and developer forums became his classroom.

"I had faith that if I continued to learn with dedication, I could change my life by starting something on my own," Suraj has said.

That belief became the foundation of a much larger ambition.

Building Towards Artificial Intelligence

The hours spent learning eventually evolved into a deeper understanding of artificial intelligence. Rather than focusing only on what AI could produce, Suraj became interested in how technology could better understand human behaviour, support decision-making and solve real-world problems.

As his LinkedIn bio puts it: "I didn't set out to build AI. I set out to understand people."

That philosophy later shaped the creation of Assessli, an AI startup focused on developing personalised tools that provide real-time guidance, improve productivity and help users make better decisions.

The Birth of Assessli

What began as self-directed learning eventually turned into entrepreneurship. Suraj founded Assessli with a vision of building AI systems that place human understanding at the centre of technological development.

"My goal was never to be the loudest founder in the room," Suraj told the Times of India. "It was to build one thing that outlasts me — intelligence that understands people instead of just predicting them. If I get that right, I'll have done my job."

The startup has since earned recognition among the top two AI startups on F6S, a global platform that tracks millions of companies across industries and geographies.

Remembering Where It All Started

For Suraj, the journey from delivery rider to AI founder carries lessons that extend beyond business success.

"From a delivery bike to building a foundational model, the lesson never changed," he said. "Nobody owes you permission to build the future. You earn it by refusing to wait — and you keep it by never forgetting where you started."