From leasing comic books to building Rs 88850000000 global empire, meet Ajit Prabhu, he is the CEO of…; Know his incredible journey

Quest Global is a global engineering services company headquartered in Singapore. It employs over 21,000 people, out of which about 15,000 work in India. The company operates 83 centers across 17 countries worldwide. For the financial year ending in March 2025, Quest Global reported revenue of about USD 1 billion (approximately Rs. 8,885 crore). Some of its major clients include Rolls-Royce, GE, Pratt & Whitney, Airbus, British Petroleum, AMD, Renesas, Microsoft, and Qualcomm. The company was founded by Ajit Prabhu, who comes from a humble family in Karnataka.

Ajit grew up in the small town of Hubballi in northern Karnataka. He came from a modest background, and during the 1980s, when comic books were a popular form of entertainment, he couldn’t afford to buy them. So, he found a clever way to enjoy them without spending much. He would pay just 25 paise to read comics inside a shop, under one condition i.e. he had to return them in perfect condition.

Later, Ajit started taking those comics home and renting them out to his friends for a small fee. This helped him earn a little money and also build his own comic collection.

Ajit Prabhu’s humble beginnings

Ajit Prabhu’s father was a lawyer in Hubballi, Karnataka. Ajit studied in a government school where the medium of instruction was Kannada. He was good at math and physics, which helped him get admission to an engineering college to study mechanical engineering. Later, he went on to pursue higher studies at Old Dominion University in the United States.

To fund his travel and education, Ajit’s family took a loan from the State Bank of India (SBI). With just USD 60 in his pocket, he flew to America. His first night there was quite tough as he had to sleep in the airport terminal because the person who was supposed to pick him up never showed up, and he didn’t know how to use the American payphone system.

At the university, Ajit’s main goal was to find a teaching or research assistantship to cover his tuition fees. His first job was at the university bookstore, where he helped move books from the warehouse and arrange them on shelves. Later, he began teaching math to minority students, which helped him earn enough money to buy a car within six months.

After completing his master’s degree, Ajit registered for a PhD program, continuing his academic journey in the US.

Ajit’s turning point at General Electric

Ajit’s life took a major turn when his parents expressed their wish to visit him in the United States. To bring them there, he needed to arrange USD 5,000. One of his professors advised him to apply for a job at General Electric (GE) Corporate R&D.

Ajit was soon hired as an engineer at GE, earning a salary of USD 58,000 a year. While working there, he gained valuable experience, but deep down, he always wanted to start his own business.

In 1997, Ajit teamed up with Aravind Melligeri to start Quest Global, an engineering research and development (R&D) services company. Today, analysts recognize Quest Global as one of the leading names in the global engineering services industry.

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