Scholarship or Unicorn Job

I read a book called Die With Zero, which talks about spending time and resources to maximize experiences based on specific life stages. For example, certain opportunities, like going on adventures, are best pursued between ages 20–40 rather than when you are older and your body is less able to handle those adventures.

How does this relate to your decision? The scholarship seems like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity tied to your current life stage. If it’s as prestigious as you say, I’d lean toward taking it because it's not a decision that you can make later in your life. Whereas, there will always be a company that you can work for.

Even in the worst-case scenario where the scholarship doesn’t directly lead to immediate success, the time commitment (likely 1–3 years?) is short enough that it won’t significantly hinder your career. You’d still have plenty of time to build career momentum afterward.

On the other hand, AI companies, while exciting, are harder to predict long-term. Many innovative products( like ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot) quickly became commodities as competitors reached parity. Similarly, the unicorn companies you mentioned might not retain their status in 5–10 years. However, I’m confident that after completing the scholarship, you’ll have access to other promising opportunities, including future unicorns, likely even bigger than those available today.

One factor you can consider is the history and track record of the field/program itself. AI is relatively new and very rapidly evolving, so many AI companies don't have a definitive future just yet. Yet others will be obsolete as AI tech evolves. AI is also here to stay, fueling innovation for new companies for time to come.

From what you wrote, the scholarship program seems to be well-established and a have track record of giving the recipients an edge. Unless you can apply again and have a great chance of being selected, this opportunity sounds more unique to me.

My main concern is the risk of not finding a comparable job after the scholarship

If by "comparable job" you mean the AI company, there's also a possibility of finding something even better! I'd also take into account the skills you'll learn at the scholarship and how they'll strengthen your prospects down the line as opposed to evaluating your options based on where you stand today.

Basically, I'm recommending you see the scholarship as the start of a journey and leave the destination open. :)

Your career is going to be a 40-year journey. No need to rush into it if you have compelling opportunities that can only happen while you're in school.

Based on the feedback from the scholarship alumni ("past recipients call it life-changing"), I'd probably pick the scholarship. A few random thoughts:

• Talk to scholarship alumni directly -- don't blindly trust the testimonials or feedback from the scholarship website/Facebook group (those will obviously be biased).
• The companies you're considering joining are all in the growth stage, valued at billions of dollars. In the grand scheme of things, it won't make a meaningful difference if you join in 2025 or 2026. I'm sure you can get comparable jobs after the scholarship is done.

One decision-making technique that can actually be quite valuable is "What will make a better story?" From this perspective, I think the scholarship is a clear winner: you'll meet very interesting and varied people, and your chance of serendipitous encounters is higher.