Meet Pranjali Awasthi: NRI Teenager Behind ₹100 Crore AI Startup — Now Wants To Give ChatGPT 'Hands'

Age is no barrier in the tech world, they say. If so, then look no further than Pranjali Awasthi.

This Indian-born, US-based coder began programming at just seven, secured research lab internships by 13, and founded her own AI startup - Delv.AI - at the age of 16.

Photo Credit: x.com/raidingAI

The company reached a valuation of approximately ₹100 crore (around $12 million) in just over a year.

Pranjali's journey is as much a tale of determination as it is of opportunity. After relocating from India to Florida at age 11, she received solid backing from her father, a computer engineer, to pursue her interest in coding.

Immersing herself in computer science and competitive mathematics at school, she soon landed an internship at the Neural Dynamics of Control Lab at Florida International University.

There, she engaged with machine learning projects at a remarkably young age, even contributing to research distinguishing ADHD types using EEG data.

Building Delv.AI: ₹100 Crore startup

In January 2022, Pranjali launched Delv.AI in Miami, with the aim of making research more accessible for everyone.

Delv.AI is an AI-driven platform that assists researchers in extracting and summarising information from academic papers, PDFs, and more.

It allows users to search across multiple documents simultaneously, link their cloud storage, and export results in CSV format. The platform offers a free plan, with paid tiers for advanced features.

The startup quickly gained traction, raising around $450,000 (₹3.89 crore) from investors including Backend Capital and Village Global. By October 2023, Delv.AI had reached a valuation of nearly ₹100 crore.

Researchers are particularly fond of it as it reduces repetitive research and development tasks by up to 75%, saving considerable time.

What's next? Dash - her "ChatGPT with hands"

Now 18 and pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, Pranjali has embarked on her next major project: Dash. She describes it as "ChatGPT with hands".

Dash is an AI assistant that doesn't just converse - it performs actions. It's focused on automation, not merely conversation.

Last month, Dash climbed to the number one spot on Product Hunt, and Pranjali celebrated the milestone by launching an official Discord server, which she shared via LinkedIn.

From research labs to future of AI

Pranjali's work began well before Delv.AI. She previously interned at the Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience and has led coding workshops at hackathons.

She also completed the Creative Destruction Lab's Apprentice Programme, gaining exposure to AI, agriculture, and various cutting-edge fields.

Her path proves that making an impact doesn't require waiting for the "right time". As she explains, Delv.AI was created to "go behind the paywall to get you relevant information fast" - and now, through Dash, she's aiming to make AI even more practical.