Pranjali Awasthi, a 16-year-old Indian prodigy, has entered the tech industry with her startup, Delv.AI, which focuses on streamlining data extraction for research. Ms. Awasthi established her company in January 2022 and has already secured $450,000 (around Rs 3.7 crore) in funding. She leads a team of about 10 employees.
Young Tech Prodigy’s Inspiring Journey – From Early Coding to AI Startup
Her journey into the world of technology began at a young age, and she attributes her father, an engineer, as her primary source of inspiration for her entrepreneurial path. She mentioned that her father’s enthusiasm and values motivated her to start coding at the age of 7.
She shared with Business Insider that her family moved from India to Florida when she was 11, which exposed her to the fields of computer science and competitive mathematics.
At the age of 13, she began interning at university research labs at Florida International University, working on machine learning projects while attending school. During the COVID pandemic, she increased her internship hours to about 20 per week due to virtual schooling.
Young Tech Prodigy’s Journey – From Startup Accelerator to AI Success
It was during her internship experiences that she began contemplating how AI could address the problem, leading to the conception of Delv.AI. In 2021, Pranjali secured a spot in an AI startup accelerator in Miami, organized by tech enthusiasts Lucy Guo and Dave Fontenot from Backend Capital. In exchange for a stake in her future company, she joined their 12-week cohort starting in September.
She temporarily stepped away from high school, and the accelerator served as her launchpad, helping her attract investments from well-known entities, including On Deck and Village Global.
Delv.AI’s main mission is to assist researchers in retrieving specific information from online content. The company raised $450,000 (approximately ₹3.7 crore) in funding and currently holds an estimated valuation of $12 million (Rs 100 crore).
