The rise of the artificial intelligence sector has sparked an era of staggering salaries, setting the stage for a new class of millionaires and prompting young couples to consider prenuptial agreements before tying the knot.
Akash Samant, at just 26, exemplifies this trend. As a co-founder of the AI startup Coverflow in 2024, he represents a new wave in Silicon Valley making astute financial choices, thanks to impressive starting salaries in the six-figure range.
Samant shared with the New York Times how he met his girlfriend, Valeria Barojas, through a dating app soon after launching his company in September 2024.
Coverflow, which specializes in services for insurance firms, secured a venture capital infusion of $4.8 million last year. As the company surfs the AI boom, Samant and Barojas have already broached the topic of a prenuptial agreement.
While Samant is based in San Francisco, his 24-year-old partner studies at Arizona State University. During their visits, Samant willingly shoulders most expenses, from flights and dining to a romantic getaway in Paris.
The enterprising Samant informed the Times that the couple plans to divide housing expenses based on their respective incomes, reflecting their practical approach to finances.
‘It is not an expectation that I have to pay for everything for her,’ he said. ‘Ultimately, I’d like to do that, but that’s not something that I do currently.’
His goal is to earn enough money from his company, either going public or being bought, to stop working altogether. For now, Samant earns $120,000 to $160,000 each year and holds a significant stake in the startup.
Akash Samant, 26, discussed a prenup with his girlfriend of a year and a half as co-founder of the successful AI startup Coverflow. He earns between $120,000 and $160,000 per year
Lauren Lavender, of HelloPrenup, said: ‘People in the Bay Area – because they work in an industry that could potentially be overtaken by AI – they’re fully aware of the assets they have’
Samant’s girlfriend, Valeria Barojas, 24, said everyone’s financial input looks different when discussing a potential prenup with her boyfriend
Last month, after dating for a year and a half, Samant and Barojas agreed that he wouldn’t be giving up his work without a prenup.
‘Everyone’s effort is always going to look different to someone else’s,’ Barojas told the Times. ‘My 100 percent can be someone’s 50 percent, and vice versa.’
Such conversations are becoming more of a normalcy among couples working in the AI industry, which has prompted almost 25 percent of tech workers to consider changing how they split costs in relationships, according to a Blind survey.
Around nine percent of the 1,000 respondents in the survey said the AI industry boom has caused them to more seriously consider a prenup or financial protection, the Times reported.
The AI race has made the industry incredibly competitive, with the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI – recently merged with SpaceX – offering jaw-dropping compensation packages.
Publicly listed offerings see the potential for some 16,000 people to become millionaires, according to private market research platform Sacra.
Lauren Lavender, chief marketing officer at HelloPrenup, told the Times that in the tech industry a prenup is a common occurrence.
‘People in the Bay Area – because they work in an industry that could potentially be overtaken by AI – they’re fully aware of the assets that they have,’ Lavender said.
‘They have a lifestyle that they want to protect.’
Gujri Singh, 31, told the outlet that for her, a prenup is non-negotiable as an OpenAI employee earning between $200,000 to $300,000
The AI race has made the industry incredibly competitive, with the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI – recently merged with SpaceX – offering jaw-dropping compensation packages
Sam Mockford, an associate wealth adviser for Citrine Capital, said discussions around protecting their money come from fears the AI bubble may burst
For Samant, while he said he relied on Barojas for ’emotional support,’ he considered the financial success of his company, founded before he met her, separate from their relationship.
Gujri Singh, 31, also told the Times that for her, a prenup is non-negotiable.
Singh joined OpenAI’s sales team in 2023, and said a former boyfriend had understood her desire for a prenup after she was hired by the AI company, where she began earning between $200,000 to $300,000.
‘I think what I have today will not be totality of what I earn in my career,’ she told the Times. ‘I’m, quite frankly, just getting started.’
The conversations around prenups stem largely from fears that the booming AI bubble will eventually burst, according to Citrine Capital associate wealth adviser Sam Mockford.
Mockford told the Times: ‘A prenup is thinking abut the near future and the far future and the what-if future.
‘And when you’re looking at equity, there’s a lot that’s variable about your future wealth.’
Megan Lieu, 29, told the outlet that her earnings skyrocketed after November 2022, when ChatGPT launched.
After she founded ML Data, a company that creates content on AI and technology, she joined forces with the likes of Anthropic, Nvidia, Salesforce and Adobe.
Megan Lieu, 29, founder of ML Data which made over $660,000 in 2025 from brand deals, said she earns around fives times as much as her boyfriend
Lieu’s boyfriend, Daniel Kim, 32, said he doesn’t view investment success as individual in marriage, adding: ‘You’re kind of agreeing to become one’
ML Data made over $660,000 in 2025, mainly sourced from brand deals, according to Lieu, who said she earns around fives times as much as her boyfriend, 32-year-old Daniel Kim.
The pair live together in Lieu’s home in Washington DC, with Kim paying equal amounts in mortgage payments each month.
However, their household costs are split by Lieu spending more on expenses, such as homeowners association fees or utilities.
‘Being in the world of content creation around AI has exposed me to a lot of other women and families and people who have this kind of nontraditional household – where sometimes it is the woman contributing more,’ she told the Times.
Lieu added that she sees Kim as her equal, and said: ‘I would never view my partner as a competitor, but I would say that I am pretty competitive normally relative to my peers.’
Kim said that covering everyday expenses, such as dinners or groceries, is what allows him to continue providing in their relationship.
‘It’s just a kind of gesture that I think I’m providing for my girlfriend, and I enjoy providing that kind of gesture,’ he told the outlet.
‘It’s the same with my family, same with my dogs, like I just enjoy providing a kind of gesture for them when I can.’
Lieu and Kim have talked about a prenup, and what theirs might include. But Kim said he doesn’t view any investment success as individual, as the other partner contributed indirectly through support or sacrifice.
‘When you agree to get married,’ he told the Times. ‘You’re kind of agreeing to become one.’
