Pratyush Rai Cold-DMed Notion's COO About a Hike. It Became One of His Best Memories in San Francisco.

As part of The First Welcome in Silicon Valley series, we have been asking founders to share their stories of the first welcome they experienced in Silicon Valley. The people, the moments, and the gestures that stayed with them.

In this story, Pratyush Rai, Co-Founder and CEO of Merlin AI and Thine, shared how a handful of people shaped his earliest days in San Francisco.

Pratyush is building two companies out of his parent company Foyer Tech. Merlin AI is a browser-based AI assistant that brings models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Llama directly into your workflow. It has over 10 million users, was featured in a16z's top 50 AI apps, and Pratyush was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia for Consumer Technology. His newer venture, Thine, is an AI co-founder for your life. It lives alongside you across conversations, meetings, and decisions, and helps you answer the questions you cannot fit into a prompt. Before all of this, Pratyush studied at IIT Kanpur, was President of the Students' Gymkhana, and worked at BCG.

His story is about the quiet, consistent generosity of people who remembered what it was like to be new.

"When I first moved to SF, my IITK senior Kshitij Jaggi, Founder of RISA, played a big role early on. He helped me get set up, find a place, and understand how the Bay Area works. That kind of guidance made a huge difference.

Another important person was Simar from Butternut AI, a YC founder who was incredibly generous with their time, helping me understand the ecosystem without expecting anything in return.

One thing SF does really well is this. When people know you are new, they genuinely try to help you settle in. They point you to the right places, introduce you to the right people, and just make the transition smoother.

A great example of that was Akshay Kothari, COO of Notion. We randomly pinged him on Twitter asking to join a hike he was organizing. He did not know us well, but still went out of his way to include us and even organized a few hikes that we got to be a part of. Those early morning hikes ended up being some of my best memories here. Great people, great conversations, and a very real sense of belonging."

Pratyush's story is a reminder that the first welcome in Silicon Valley is rarely one moment. It is a senior who helps you find a place. A fellow founder who gives you time without keeping score. And sometimes it is the COO of a billion dollar company saying yes to a cold DM about a morning hike. Each of those gestures, small on their own, added up to a city that felt like it wanted him there.