Pranjali Awasthi, a 16-year-old tech prodigy from India is making a significant impact in the tech sector with her innovative AI startup, Delv.AI. Awasthi founded her startup in January 2022 and has already secured funding of about Rs 3.7 crore ($450,000) and currently has a team of 10 employees.
Delv.AI is focused on transforming data extraction and summarisation processes through machine learning. Awasthi’s interest in technology began in her early years, strongly influenced by her father, an engineer, who placed a significant emphasis on computer science education.
What sparked the vision?
Her coding journey commenced at the young age of seven, providing a solid foundation for her remarkable path. When her family moved to Florida when she was 11, she had the opportunity to participate in computer science classes and competitive math programs, which further fueled her curiosity in the tech field.
At 16 years old, Awasthi began an internship at the research labs of Florida International University. This opportunity, along with her virtual high school experience during the pandemic, introduced her to machine-learning projects. It was during this period, coinciding with the beta release of OpenAI‘s ChatGPT-3, that triggered her vision to improve data extraction with AI and eliminate data silos, thus setting the stage for Delv.AI.
Delv.AI’s main objective is to help researchers efficiently retrieve specific information amidst the vast expanse of online content. Their participation in the accelerator program was instrumental in securing investments from On Deck and Village Global, totalling $450,000 with a $12 million valuation.
Skipping the degree
Becoming a part of an AI startup accelerator in Miami, led by Lucy Guo and Dave Fontenot of Backend Capital, marked a pivotal moment for Awasthi. Despite temporarily stepping away from high school, she remained unwavering in her pursuit of Delv.AI. The beta launch of the platform on Product Hunt achieved remarkable success.
Despite the significance of education to Awasthi’s Indian parents, she has chosen to defer her college plans in order to concentrate on her company. Nevertheless, she envisions returning to higher education at a later time to acquire business skills that will enhance her entrepreneurial path.
At 16, Awasthi is already leading a compact, yet highly adaptable team and has taken charge of multiple facets of Delv.AI, spanning from coding to operational matters and customer service.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
