OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said dropping out after two years at Stanford was the right choice as he had acquired enough knowledge for entrepreneurship, and additional time on campus would have offered minimal practical gains. He believes the traditional four-year university route is not optimal in today’s tech-driven world, though campuses still provide valuable social and learning opportunities. Altman himself followed this path in 2005, founding Loopt, which became one of Y Combinator’s early incubated projects. His mentor Peter Thiel also supports young people skipping full degrees, offering a $250,000 startup grant to encourage them to start businesses earlier.