Vaniya Agrawal, a 28-year-old Indian-American software engineer, has become the face of internal dissent at Microsoft after confronting senior leadership during the company’s 50th anniversary celebration last week.
A graduate of Arizona State University, Vaniya Agrawal earned her Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering in 2019, graduating summa cum laude.
She was awarded the Grace Hopper Scholarship in 2017 – a competitive honour supporting women in computing.
Before joining Microsoft in September 2023, she worked at Amazon in various engineering roles. Her early career also included stints as a tea consultant, social media manager, and medical assistant, showcasing an unconventional path into big tech.
At Microsoft, Agrawal worked as a Software Engineer II in the Artificial Intelligence division.
That chapter came to an abrupt end on Friday, when she disrupted a high-profile keynote attended by Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and CEO Satya Nadella, accusing the company of complicity in the war in Gaza.
“Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” she shouted. “Fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you.”
Vaniya Agrawal was escorted out of the event. Shortly after, she sent a company-wide email stating she would resign on April 11, citing her ethical concerns with Microsoft’s contracts.
“By working for this company, we are all complicit,” she wrote.
Microsoft made her resignation immediately effective on Monday.
Vaniya Agrawal’s protest followed another interruption earlier that day by colleague Ibtihal Aboussad, who directly confronted AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, accusing him of selling AI “weapons” to the Israeli military.
Both employees were terminated after the event.
The protests came after an Associated Press investigation revealed Microsoft and OpenAI technologies were reportedly used by the IDF to select bombing targets during Israel’s agression on Gaza and Lebanon.
Microsoft has said it supports open dialogue but expects employees not to disrupt business events.
The company has not directly addressed the allegations regarding its contracts.
