At IIT Hyderabad, a 21-year-old final-year Computer Science engineering student, Edward Nathan Varghese, has made history with a record 2.5 crore placement package, the highest ever at the institute since its establishment in 2008. The unbelievable offer has been made by Optiver, a global trading company headquartered in the Netherlands. Edward will be a Software Engineer at Optiver from July. He was given the offer following a successful conversion of his two-month summer internship into a pre-placement offer.
As part of the selection process, he performed better than a fellow candidate who was also shortlisted for the internship. According to Edward, his success is due to the IIT brand, the flexible academic system, and the institute's focus on coding and competitive programming from the very first year. He also reportedly said to the media that Optiver was the only company he interviewed with during the placement season.
Why this IIT Hyderabad Offer is Special?
Before this, the highest placement package at IIT Hyderabad was 1.1 crore, which was achieved in 2017. Over the last few years, the highest offers have been 90 lakh in 2023-24 and 66 lakh in 2024-25. Edwards' INR 2.5 crore package has set a new standard by surpassing all previous records, marking a historic milestone in IIT Hyderabad placement journey.
Edward Nathan’s Strong Academic Background
Edward started his life and early education in Hyderabad, but later shifted to Bengaluru, where he completed his schooling from Class 7 to Class 12. He has consistently proven his spirit in competitive examinations throughout his academic journey.
In 2022, he achieved AIR 1100 in JEE Main and AIR 558 in JEE Advanced, which helped him gain admission to IIT Hyderabad. Apart from pursuing his engineering degree, Edward also took the CAT exam and scored an excellent 99.96th percentile in 2025, thereby making the All India Rank of 120.
Leadership Roles on IITH Campus
Edward's accomplishments are beyond his academic record. He was the Overall Head of the Office of Career Services at IIT Hyderabad, as per his LinkedIn profile. In this capacity, he directed a team of eight student managers and approximately 250 coordinators who were responsible for placements and internships. Before that, he was an Internship Cell Coordinator for 11 months, which made him very familiar with the campus placement process.
