India, July 6 -- Princeton University student Charles Muehlberger could have accepted summer internship offers from a major tech company or a rocket engineering firm.

He decided to come to San Francisco and launch an AI startup instead. Four weeks in, Muehlberger is in Barcelona pitching potential customers.

The urgency he feels to build his startup, which aims to bring open-source models offline and onto local devices, made him decide to take a gap year. "Those who are building now get a voice in what the future looks like," he said.

For decades, the path for many elite students was clear: secure internships in tech, finance or consulting, graduate with a cushy job and climb the corporate ladder.

But more students, including Muehlber...