Kairan Quazi, the 16-year-old prodigy who joined SpaceX at just 14, is taking a new leap, this time to Wall Street.
After two years with Elon Musk’s aerospace company, he’s joining Citadel Securities, one of the world’s biggest quantitative trading firms, as a developer in New York City.
“I felt ready to take on new challenges and expand my skill set into a different high-performance environment,” Quazi told Business Insider in an exclusive interview.
From satellites to stock markets
Quazi made headlines in 2023 as the youngest graduate of Santa Clara University before joining SpaceX’s Starlink division, where he worked on production-critical systems. His job was no small feat; he designed software to help determine where Starlink satellites direct their beams, ensuring internet access for millions worldwide.
Now, instead of coding for satellites, he’ll be building trading algorithms at Citadel Securities.
“Quant finance offers a pretty rare combination: the complexity and intellectual challenge that AI research also provides, but with a much faster pace,” Quazi explained.
Despite offers from leading AI labs and tech giants, Quazi says Citadel stood out. The firm’s mix of intellectual challenges and rapid feedback convinced him to pick finance over artificial intelligence, added Business Insider.
For an industry often accused of gatekeeping, Citadel’s decision to hire a 16-year-old shows how much top firms are competing for young talent.
