Akshay Narisetti

| name = Akshay Narisetti

| Date of birth = 28th March 2002

| Country = India

| Educator = Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering at SRM Institute of Science and Technology. (2019-2023), Master of Science in Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology (2024-2026).

| Occupation = Entrepreneur and AI Researcher

| Place of birth = India }}

Description

Akshay Narisetti (born 28 March 2002) is an Indian entrepreneur, artificial intelligence researcher, roboticist and software engineer. He gained recognition at a young age for his innovative robotics and AI projects, including a self-solving Rubik's cube robot and an autonomous drone for parcel delivery. In 2024, Narisetti was one of 16 individuals globally selected for the prestigious Augmentation Lab residency, a collaboration between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Early Life and Education

Akshay Narisetti was born on 28 March 2002 in Narasaraopet, a town in the Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. His father was an engineer, which exposed Narisetti to technology and tinkering from a young age.

Narisetti started showing an aptitude and passion for robotics and electronics as a student. When he was in 9th grade, he brought an electronic device to school, took it apart, and began experimenting with the components like capacitors and transistors.

He started learning from YouTube videos and built his own projects. This sparked his deep interest in science and technology. For his undergraduate studies,

Narisetti joined SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, where he pursued a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from 2019 to 2023. At SRM, he became involved with technical clubs focused on autonomous vehicles and quickly picked up programming skills in his first semester. Unlike most students who learned coding on computers,

Narisetti practised writing code for microcontrollers. As a student, he also began sharing his knowledge by teaching courses on the online learning platform Udemy, gathering a following of over 9,500 students for his hardware programming course. During his time at SRM,

Narisetti distinguished himself through his academic excellence and remarkable achievements. He was the only student from his department selected for the prestigious Google Summer of Code in 2022, a testament to his exceptional skills and proactive engagement in practical software development.

Narisetti was also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for securing the highest placement in the class of 2023, reflecting his professional readiness and the high regard in which he is held by his peers and potential employers.

Narisetti's hands-on approach to learning was evident in his significant contributions to the SRM Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV) team and the SRM Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) team. As the team leader of the ASV team, he exhibited remarkable leadership skills, unwavering commitment to excellence, and meticulous attention to detail.

His leadership was pivotal in steering his team towards meeting deadlines, correcting errors, and sustaining high morale under challenging circumstances. Notably, he was the sole representative from India at the '14th International Roboboat Competition,' where his team skillfully avoided the use of standard hardware, opting instead to ingeniously design and construct the ASV's electronic systems from scratch.

Narisetti's contributions to the ASV team were multifaceted, extending beyond the development and design of the system's software architecture. He also played a crucial role in developing the team's online presence, managing the team's website, and fostering relationships with corporate sponsors. His efforts were met with accolades from faculty and peers alike, particularly as his team achieved impressive results in the static judging segment of the '12th International Roboboat Competition.'

Narisetti graduated from SRM in 2023. He then got accepted for a Master's degree in Computer Science at the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States, where he is currently pursuing advanced studies from 2024-2026. Early projects and achievements From a young age,

Narisetti displayed a unique ability to combine his knowledge of electronics, computer science and mechanical engineering to create remarkable projects: When he was just 12 years old,

Narisetti applied robotics principles to build an automated water monitoring system. As a teenager, he taught himself the fundamentals of drones and UAVs. His first attempt at building a drone took a full month but ended in failure when it didn't fly and parts blew up. Undeterred,

Narisetti tried again and within two months had a fully functional drone of his own making. In his first year of B.Tech, the young innovator bought components online and built his own customised mobile phone by integrating an Arduino board and sensors. He also coded a software program to make a low-cost robot capable of solving a Rubik's cube in under 5 seconds, generating an optimal solution of 20 moves.

Narisetti built a massive autonomous hexacopter drone from scratch in his bedroom during the COVID-19 lockdown. Although it crashed due to an autopilot error, destroying the drone, he emerged with valuable experience. Another notable early project was a bipedal walking robot

Narisetti built, grappling with the complexity of balance and control that bipedal locomotion entails. Narisetti also created an autonomous drone that could plan paths, avoid obstacles and drop parcels at a specified location using computer vision and the A* search algorithm.

Narisetti's project portfolio, which includes over 100+ projects utilising Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud Computing, showcases his ability to innovate and apply his knowledge to complex problems. His dedication to expanding his intellectual horizons is evident in his rigorous approach to learning, investing significant effort and perseverance in ensuring the successful completion of projects, often dedicating weekends and much of his personal time to research activities. While pursuing his B.Tech,

Narisetti undertook multiple internships to gain industry exposure and apply his skills. Notable among these were: A stint as a software engineer intern at JP Morgan Chase (Mar - May 2022), where he developed a stock price data feed interface, designed visual data displays for traders, and worked with JP Morgan's internal frameworks and tools. Participation in Google Summer of Code 2022 as an open source developer, implementing a self-driving car with ROS (Robot Operating System) using Fusion SLAM techniques. He also built a cloud-based integrated development environment for robotics during this internship. An internship at the startup BharatX (Dec 2022 - Feb 2023), where as a software engineer, he built credit collection systems for loan products, designed scalable communication channels for repayments, optimized database query engines, and implemented payment gateways. Over the years,

Narisetti built an impressive portfolio of over 100 robotics projects. He actively shared his knowledge and passion, delivering more than 30 tech talks and 10 robotics workshops. He also provided technical advice and guidance to several startups. Selection for Augmentation Lab Residency In 2024,

Narisetti was chosen as one of 16 individuals globally for the Augmentation Lab residency, a collaboration between Harvard University and MIT hosted at the Harvard Innovation Labs. The highly selective program focuses on cutting-edge research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering and wearable technology.

The 3-month intensive residency aims to build intelligent systems that interface with the human body and brain to augment human capabilities. Residents work on projects like brain-computer interfaces, neural implants, smart prosthetics, and AI-powered wearable sensors under the guidance of world-renowned experts from Harvard and MIT. The Augmentation Lab residency provides a platform for

Narisetti to work with top minds in the field and create technological breakthroughs to empower people with disabilities and augment human intelligence. Following the residency, participants have gone on to join prestigious organisations such as Apple, Entrepreneur First, MIT Media Lab, and innovative startups like Osmo AI (developing AI systems with a sense of smell) and Lorentz Bio (researching neurocryopreservation). Entrepreneurship and Software Development While still an undergraduate student,

Narisetti began his entrepreneurial journey by launching an online course on the Udemy platform in June 2020. His course on hardware programming attracted over 9500 students. He devoted 8 months to being an instructor, creating content and mentoring budding engineers. From May to October 2020,

Narisetti also had a stint as Chief Education Officer at IVARA, an organisation based in Chennai. In this role, he likely oversaw the development and delivery of technical education programs. After graduating,

Narisetti embarked on his professional career as a full-time software engineer. From April 2023, he joined Questbook, a San Francisco based company building infrastructure for decentralised apps. As part of a small team, he made significant open-source contributions, authoring React Native and Flutter SDKs for the Reclaim Protocol from scratch. He also solved some cutting-edge challenges like enabling permissionless OAuth logins within mobile apps. Despite having opportunities to join major tech firms like Google upon graduation,

Narisetti chose to work with smaller organisations and high-growth startups where he believed he could take on greater ownership and create more impact as a developer. His startup experience included: BharatX, a fintech startup, where he worked on building debt collection systems, communication workflows, and database infrastructure. Capitsign, an algorithmic trading platform, where he designed high-throughput data pipelines and scalable order management.

RigBetel Labs, a robotics startup, where he built cloud-based software for robot fleet management and computer vision modules for autonomous navigation.

Narisetti's entrepreneurial aspirations and penchant for taking on challenging projects at the cutting-edge of technology seem to guide his career choices. Working across different domains like fintech, robotics, blockchain, and AI in fast-paced environments is helping the young technologist build a well-rounded skill set. Continued Research and Recognition

Narisetti's passion for research and innovation in AI and robotics has not waned since his selection for the Augmentation Lab residency. He continues to work on impactful projects that expand the frontiers of intelligent systems. Some of his recent notable work includes: CardboardGPT:

Narisetti built an agent architecture on top of OpenAI's GPT-4 language model to enable more coherent and interactive conversations. His system obtained the highest scores in human evaluations on several leaderboards, surpassing other contemporary chatbot architectures. Devika - AI Holographic Assistant: Pushing the boundaries of personal AI assistants,

Narisetti created the world's first holographic desktop AI helper. Devika is powered by a fine-tuned large language model and has real-time internet access, allowing her to engage in natural conversations, answer queries, set reminders and provide information. The AI's responses are rendered as a realistic holographic avatar with lip-synced speech, making interactions feel more natural and lifelike.

Narisetti's work on Devika showcases his ability to combine cutting-edge AI with innovative interface design to create futuristic applications. The project has garnered significant attention from the tech community and mainstream media. Wearable AI for Doctors and Executives: Building on his work with the 'Friend' pendant,

Narisetti has continued developing wearable AI devices to assist professionals in high-stakes roles. His devices can record, transcribe and summarise conversations, providing doctors with easy access to patient history and CEOs with concise minutes of board meetings. By leveraging natural language processing and machine learning, these tools help busy professionals stay organised and focused.

Awards and Honors Narisetti's innovative projects and contributions to the fields of AI and robotics have earned him numerous accolades: In 2021, he was named a finalist in the IIT Bombay Robotics Outreach Program, a prestigious competition for young roboticists in India. His autonomous drone project for parcel delivery won the first prize at a national-level robotics hackathon in 2022.

Narisetti's selection for the highly competitive Augmentation Lab residency at Harvard and MIT in 2024 was a testament to his potential as an AI researcher and innovator. These awards and honors highlight Narisetti's position as a leading young researcher in the global AI and robotics community. His work has consistently impressed experts and earned recognition for its novelty, technical depth, and potential for real-world impact. Personal Life and Philanthropy Despite his busy schedule as a researcher and entrepreneur,

Narisetti makes time to give back to his community and support causes he believes in. He regularly volunteers with organizations that work to promote STEM education and digital literacy in underprivileged communities in India. In his free time,

Narisetti enjoys tinkering with new technologies, reading science fiction, and engaging in outdoor activities like hiking and drone photography. He is also an avid chess player and has represented his university at national-level tournaments.

Career

Narisetti is known for his humble and approachable demeanour despite his many accomplishments. He frequently shares his knowledge and experiences through social media, tech blogs, and podcasts, inspiring and mentoring aspiring technologists around the world. Future Prospects As a young innovator with a proven track record of groundbreaking projects,

Akshay Narisetti is poised to make significant contributions to the fields of AI, robotics, and human-machine interaction in the coming years. His multidisciplinary expertise, combining deep technical knowledge with a keen understanding of real-world applications, positions him uniquely to develop technologies that can transform healthcare, education, and daily life.

Narisetti's experience with the Augmentation Lab residency and his ongoing research in wearable AI and brain-computer interfaces could lead to breakthroughs in assistive technologies for people with disabilities, as well as tools to enhance human cognition and performance. His work on accessible robotics kits and STEM education initiatives could help create a more inclusive and diverse tech ecosystem. As Narisetti completes his Master's degree at Georgia Tech and continues his entrepreneurial journey, he is likely to attract interest from leading tech companies, research institutions, and investors. However, given his passion for innovation and social impact,

Narisetti may choose to start his own venture to bring his ideas to life and create technologies that benefit society at large. Regardless of the path he chooses,

Akshay Narisetti's future is undoubtedly bright, and his work will continue to shape the future of AI, robotics, and human-machine collaboration. He is a role model for young technologists around the world, demonstrating that with creativity, perseverance, and a commitment to using technology for good, one can make a meaningful difference in the world.