The Apprentice 2026 winner Karishma Vijay: 'Lord Alan Sugar looks unreal - like AI'
The Apprentice 2026 winner Karishma Vijay is blown away by Lord Sugar's polished and efficient approach to working, likening it to artificial intelligence.
The Apprentice 2026 winner Karishma Vijay has compared Lord Alan Sugar to artificial intelligence (AI).
Karishma, 29, bagged the 79-year-old show boss' £250,000 investment and mentorship for her skincare-infused beauty brand, Kishkin – the Skincare Miracle, after she defeated 19 other aspiring entrepreneurs in the BBC reality TV show.
And she and Lord Sugar have forged the "ultimate" partnership since the business magnate hired her earlier this month, and Karishma is blown away by his efficient way of working, likening it to AI.
Karishma added in the new issue of Heat magazine: "He asked me yesterday, 'What shall I post?' I said, 'Talk about that moment where you told me to look you in the eyes and tell you my brand works.'
"Within 20 minutes, he's filmed the video, it's got captions, it's been edited. What surprised me the most about him is that he looks unreal - like AI, and he is up at 7am every morning, grafting, even though he's a billionaire.
"That's what I want to be like."
Karishma "faked it so hard" on The Apprentice.
The star explained: "Confidence is worth more than any money. A lot of people on the show didn't know I was an influencer, because I thought that they would write me off as, 'Oh, she makes videos for a living.'
"I walked into a room of 19 other candidates who have studied the show inside out. I walked in like, 'I know how to negotiate, sell, pitch, and lead.'
"I had not done any of that outside of my own stuff. I faked it so hard. Everyone believed it. I strongly believe that the girl who I pretended to be for those 12 weeks... I'm better now because I actually have the success to back me."
In the final, Karishma came out on top against Pascha Myhill, whose business plan was a recruitment company within private healthcare, focusing on supplying experienced, compliant, and compassionate professionals to private nursing homes, care homes, supported living services, and domiciliary care providers and nurseries within the UK.
And Karishma thinks Pascha, 22, will continue to shine in life.
She said: "Pascha carried herself with so much grace. The world needed to see an all-female final. People would have loved to see us pitted against each other and fighting, but neither of us are like that.
"She's going to do really big things in life."
