This is all from Shruti:

Aryamman Bhatia is part of the team building HackerFab IITB, an open-source student-built chip microfabrication lab. He received his grant to build what he hopes will become the world’s cheapest fabrication tools and to inspire bottom-up contributions to India’s Semiconductor Mission.

Yashi Garg, 17, received her grant for Neurosole, a smart shoe designed to detect and prevent diabetic neuropathy. She is also a poet and emerging entrepreneur focused on purposeful innovation.

Fahad Hasin received his grant for the Kerala Growth Series, articles and policy memos to improve economic growth in the state. He thinks of the project as publicly building “the M document” of today.

Shafquat Aman, founder of NexuSelf, received his grant to build an AI wellness platform syncing women’s nutrition, workouts, hydration, and menstrual cycles to drive 2x adherence and lasting health outcomes. The company is a Delaware C-Corp in beta with users across the United States and India.

Kevin Wilson, founder and director of Tala Education, received his grant to scale play-based music pedagogy programs that train teachers and turn early childhood classrooms across India into spaces of creativity, inquiry, and joyful learning.

Yogesh Ostwal and Ayush Ranawade received their grant to build a generative AI model for discovering novel oncolytic viruses.

Priyansh Kumar, from Delhi, received his grant to work on an autonomous aerial defense system.

Gowtham Y is an instrumentation, electronics, and chemical engineer. He received his grant to work on synthetic fuel production, starting with cooking gas, at large scale using solar power.

Yash Mandlik, 18, received his grant to create a decentralized hostel network for solo and budget travelers, empowering every house to host the world.

Khush Mahajan, 22, received his grant to build a hyper-personalized AI storytelling app that helps kids grow curious. He is focused on learning by building consumer AI products and turning those lessons into useful tools.

Suraj Tripathi, 17, received his grant for Xorbital, a space-based solar power system that collects sunlight in orbit and wirelessly transmits clean energy to Earth, aiming to provide 24/7 power for defense, disaster response, and remote regions.

Jenil Gandhi, 22, founder of Avinya Vegan Leather, received his grant to develop 100 percent compostable, plant-based vegan leather made from agricultural waste, reducing crop burning and animal cruelty.

Tanay Lohia received his grant for Mandrake Bioworks, which is building what he hopes will be the world’s smallest and most efficient gene editors for breakthrough cures, crops, and more.

Krishna Kant, 20, received his grant to develop a novel type of quantum dots for applications in science and technology.

Vaibhav Dabas, 20, received his grant to develop a smart ramp for train boarding.

Anindyadeep Sannigrahi, founder of LiteFold, received his grant to build infrastructure for drug discovery. The platform helps researchers iterate on experiments faster and move findings to the wet lab with greater confidence.

Chitra Singh, a visual computing graduate from MPI Germany, received her grant to build an AI copilot that streamlines radiology imaging workflows. She has spent a decade building and scaling imaging AI at deep-tech startups and GE Healthcare.

Shreyansh Diwakar, 18, from Jhansi, received his grant for the 1825 Fund, a micro-grant initiative offering equity-free capital to ambitious young builders and hackers across India.

Aditya Jha, 16, founder of Workithm, received his grant to build an AI-powered system designed to protect attention rather than merely manage tasks. He is focused on the future of human-AI collaboration, especially deep work and cognition.

Jeya Kalis, 18, from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, received his grant to develop AI for scientific discovery by exploring combinatorial possibility space.

Chetan Bhattacharji, a journalist and climate communications consultant, received his grant for Earth Chakra, where he writes and produces videos and a podcast that place science, solutions, and experts on air pollution, climate change, and sustainability center stage.

Nithish Kumar, 26, received his grant to build the computational layer for portable nuclear fission reactors to power the next frontiers of humankind.

Sparsh Agarwal, a tea planter based in Darjeeling, received his grant for Alter Magazine, a Works in Progress-style monthly publication featuring new writing on science, technology, and progress from South Asia.

Those unfamiliar with Emergent Ventures can learn more here and here. The EV India announcement is here. More about the winners of EV India second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth cohorts. To apply for EV India, use the EV application, click the “Apply Now” button and select India from the “My Project Will Affect” drop-down menu.

And here is Nabeel’s AI engine for other EV winners. Here are the other EV cohorts.

If you are interested in supporting the India tranche of Emergent Ventures, please write to me or to Shruti at [email protected].