From Goldman Sachs Intern to AI Founder: How a Dream Shifted at 23

The Internship That Changed Everything

At just 23 years old, Raymond Zhao has already lived two very different professional dreams. What began as a pursuit of a prestigious finance career at Goldman Sachs transformed into founding an AI startup now backed by Y Combinator. His journey reveals how early career experiences can redirect ambitions toward more fulfilling paths., according to further reading

“Working at Goldman Sachs was my dream, but I quickly realized it wasn’t for me when I interned there as an analyst in the summer of 2024,” Zhao explains. The mathematics and statistics student from Oxford University discovered that prestige alone wasn’t enough to sustain passion during those long summer days in London., according to recent developments

The Finance Dream: Prestige Versus Reality

Like many top students, Zhao was drawn to investment banking by the promise of good pay, respected colleagues, and intellectual challenge. “As a math student, it felt like the most prestigious route I could follow,” he recalls. The Goldman Sachs name carried significant weight among his peers and mentors., according to related coverage

The selection process was intense—online testing, virtual interviews, a superday of back-to-back conversations, and follow-up interviews. When acceptance finally came, the excitement was palpable. Yet within a month, the reality set in: the work itself didn’t ignite his curiosity the way he’d hoped., according to additional coverage

“Other interns cared deeply about financial markets and did research in their spare time, but I didn’t,” Zhao admits. The long hours—sometimes until midnight, with occasional weekend work—highlighted the commitment required for a career he wasn’t passionate about.

The Pivot Point: Backpacking and Reflection

After completing the internship, Zhao took time to backpack through Southeast Asia, using the distance to gain perspective. “I spent that time thinking about what truly excited me,” he says. Returning to Oxford for his Master’s degree in 2024, he dedicated the year to exploring alternatives., according to recent research

His involvement in Oxford’s venture capital society proved pivotal. There he met future cofounder Isabel Greenslade and connected with a network of VCs and founders. “I realized I wanted to launch a startup so I could build something myself and steer the boat,” Zhao explains., according to recent developments

Finding the Right Problem to Solve

During his final Master’s year, Zhao joined Oxford’s AI society, where the pieces began falling into place. He and Greenslade spent months ideating and pivoting until they connected with third cofounder Brandon Smith, whose contracting work revealed a specific problem in preconstruction engineering.

“Engineers spend a lot of time on very repetitive manual workflows, much of it text-based like paperwork and building forms,” Zhao notes. This insight sparked the creation of Structured AI—a copilot for the preconstruction engineering world that uses AI agents to automate tedious tasks.

The Startup Leap: From Rejection to Funding

Unlike most graduating students, Zhao skipped traditional job hunting entirely. “I just wanted a startup idea to work,” he says. Their first application to Y Combinator for the summer 2025 cohort was rejected, but persistence paid off.

In a bold move during his final week at Oxford, Zhao skipped classes to attend an AI startup conference in San Francisco. Though he hadn’t planned to fundraise, encouragement from founder friends led to investor conversations that secured approximately $500,000—making Structured AI financially viable much sooner than anticipated.

Life in the Y Combinator Pressure Cooker

Now part of Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 Batch, Zhao is fully immersed in startup life. “People warned us YC would be intense, and it is,” he says. “It’s a real sprint, and everyone works around the clock.”, as additional insights

The team has transformed their San Francisco Airbnb living room into a makeshift office with three monitors and extending desks. Days typically begin between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. with coffee, followed by non-stop work, conferences, calls, and evening events.

“I’m not sleeping that much, normally six hours, and I need a solid eight,” Zhao admits. The pressure culminates in Demo Day in early December, where they’ll pitch their progress to investors.

Why Take the Startup Path?

For Zhao, the decision between corporate security and startup uncertainty came down to a clear calculation. “It was a choice between building something in AI where returns go directly to me, versus taking a corporate job where you can wait years for a promotion,” he explains.

His advice to others considering entrepreneurship: “If you have an idea for a startup that’s keeping you up at night, I recommend trying to launch it. If you can make it work and have the appetite for risk, startup life can be very rewarding.”

With approximately $1 million in pre-seed funding secured, including the $500,000 from Y Combinator, Zhao and his team are focused on growing Structured AI into the massive company he now dreams of building—proving that sometimes, the most rewarding dreams are the ones we discover along the way.

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