In an era where scientific discovery and academic research are increasingly data-driven, one young entrepreneur is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to ease the burden of navigating the vast volumes of information online. Meet Pranjali Awasthi, a 16-year-old Indian-origin founder whose startup, Delv.AI, is transforming how researchers access, extract, and summarize research data.
From Coding at Seven to Founding a Startup
Pranjali Awasthi’s fascination with technology began early. Encouraged by her father—an engineer passionate about computer science education—she started coding at just seven years old. When her family moved to Florida around the age of 11, she was exposed to richer academic opportunities, including competitive math programs and computer science classes.
By age 13, she had earned an internship at the research labs of Florida International University, where she worked on machine learning projects. It was around this time, when OpenAI’s ChatGPT-3 beta was released, that she conceived the idea of an AI tool to help researchers sift through information more efficiently, especially as online content exploded and data silos became more common.
What Does Delv.AI Do?
Delv.AI is an AI-powered platform aimed at easing the pain points researchers often face: information overload, difficulty in extracting relevant data, and summarizing findings across many papers or reports. Its goal is to help users:
- Locate precise information within growing bodies of online content.
- Summarize complex research texts.
- Break down data silos, so that research data isn’t locked away or fragmented.
Although still early in its development, Delv.AI already boasts a team (about 10 employees) and has been accepted into a Miami-based AI startup accelerator led by prominent investors Lucy Guo and Dave Fontenot of Backend Capital. The startup also raised USD 450,000 (≈ Rs 3.7 crore) in early funding.
Impact, Recognition & Challenges
Delv.AI’s valuation is reportedly around Rs 100 crore (≈ USD 12 million), a remarkable feat for a founder of her age.
However, as with many early-stage tech ventures, Delv.AI faces challenges:
- Ensuring the AI’s accuracy and reliability, especially when summarizing or extracting data from complex scientific texts. Mis-interpretation or over-summary could lead to misleading conclusions.
- Keeping up with the pace of scientific publication, where new findings emerge daily, in varied formats and languages.
- Balancing growth with ethical considerations: copyright, data privacy, academic integrity.
What This Means for Researchers & the Future
For researchers — especially students, early-career scholars, or those in resource-limited settings — tools like Delv.AI could shorten literature reviews, reduce time spent on tedious tasks, and help ensure more inclusive access to knowledge.
Moreover, Pranjali’s success is a strong signal: young people of Indian origin, even school-age, are already making substantial contributions to the AI ecosystem. Her journey encapsulates how access, mentorship, and encouragement can spark innovation early.
As Delv.AI grows, its effectiveness will likely depend on how well it integrates with existing research practices, how accurate and unbiased its outputs are, and whether it can scale to serve researchers across disciplines and geographies.
Looking Forward
Delv.AI is one among many emerging AI tools designed to empower researchers. As the AI landscape evolves, there is growing interest in platforms that go beyond simply generating content—tools that support discovery, verification, collaboration, and insight. If Pranjali’s startup continues on this path, it could help shape a future where researchers spend less time searching and more time innovating.
For more information on Delv.AI, its roadmap, or how it works in practice
