Seru earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication in 1996 and an MBA in finance in 1998 from the University of Delhi. Subsequently, he received a PhD in finance from the University of Michigan in 2007 before joining the University of Chicago. He was a senior consultant at Accenture before pursuing his Ph.D. Seru was the recipient of a Rackham Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Dykstra Fellowship, Mistui Emerging Market Fellowship, Rodkey Fellowship, and received a Lt. Governor's gold medal for academic excellence.