In January 2025, Utkarsh Amitabh was not looking for additional work. At the time, the 34 year old entrepreneur was already managing a full schedule that included writing, university lecturing, leading a global mentorship and careers platform, and pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. At home, he was also adjusting to life with a newborn.
Despite this, Amitabh agreed to take on a part-time freelance role after being approached by data labeling startup micro1. The company invited him to join its network of subject matter experts who support the training of artificial intelligence models for enterprise clients. Amitabh says his decision was driven largely by curiosity and a strong alignment with his professional background.
Based in the United Kingdom, Amitabh has experience across business strategy, financial modeling, and technology. He explains that contributing to the development of enterprise AI systems felt like a logical extension of his existing work rather than an unrelated side project.
Micro1 focuses on recruiting professionals with deep expertise across a broad range of fields, including engineering, law, medicine, and business. Amitabh describes himself as a deep generalist, a profile that closely matches the company’s needs. His academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in moral philosophy. He also spent more than six years at Microsoft, where his role centered on business development related to cloud computing and artificial intelligence partnerships. In addition, he has authored a book on the rise of side hustles and completed a master’s thesis examining how artificial intelligence could reshape ideas of achievement.
Flexibility was a key reason the role fit into his life. Amitabh typically works about three and a half hours each evening, often after his one year old daughter has gone to sleep. He says the structure allows him to pursue his interests without overwhelming his existing commitments.
Financially, the work has been significant. Amitabh earns $200 per hour training AI models for micro1. According to a pay stub reviewed by CNBC Make It and confirmed by a company representative, he has earned close to $300,000 since starting the role, including bonuses tied to completed projects. While he notes that income was not his primary motivation, he emphasizes that fair compensation is important, particularly for work that requires advanced expertise.
Founded in 2022, micro1 has grown rapidly and now manages a network of more than two million experts worldwide. These contributors support the training of AI systems for major clients, including large AI laboratories and Fortune 100 companies developing internal language models for their workforces. The company was most recently valued at $500 million and operates in a competitive space alongside firms such as Mercor and ScaleAI.
According to micro1’s leadership, expert contributors play a critical role in maintaining high data quality. As modern AI systems have already absorbed most publicly available information, progress increasingly depends on specialists who can refine responses and challenge model limitations. This expert generated input allows the company to deliver reliable results to enterprise clients.
Training AI models involves supplying large volumes of data and real world scenarios to algorithms, then refining those systems through repeated testing. Models are prompted to solve practical business problems, such as analyzing expenses, forecasting growth, or preparing budgets. Amitabh explains that many of his assignments are confidential and focus on complex questions faced by business owners and executives.
His work requires breaking down these challenges into clear and structured components that machines can interpret accurately. When a model produces an incomplete or incorrect response, he identifies where key details were missed and helps adjust the dataset before testing again. This process can take several hours for a single task and relies heavily on careful review.
Amitabh notes that the role demands a high level of attention to detail, as both human and machine errors can affect outcomes. Through repeated engagement, he gains insight into common mistakes and how to correct them. He also describes the work as intellectually demanding, since AI systems are constantly evolving and require contributors to continually update their own knowledge and thinking.
Beyond the technical work, Amitabh has reflected on what the growth of AI means for jobs more broadly. He acknowledges widespread concern that automation could displace workers or significantly change existing roles. At the same time, he points to research suggesting long term job creation. A January 2025 analysis from the World Economic Forum projected that while AI would disrupt the labor market, it could also result in nearly 80 million net new jobs globally by 2030.
Ultimately, Amitabh approaches the issue from a philosophical perspective. He believes that knowledge is not limited and that humans and machines will continue to advance together through collaboration. In his view, concerns about artificial intelligence may encourage people to learn new skills and rethink how they approach their work, rather than signaling an inevitable decline in opportunity.
