16-Year-Old Student’s AI Startup Aims to Make Indian Roads Safer

Vanisha Kheterpal, a 16-year-old student of Jaipur’s Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, isn't your average teenager! While many her age are glued to social media, she is leading a revolution to make Indian roads safer with her AI-powered startup, SurakshaAI.

This Jaipur-based GenAI-powered platform aims to reduce traffic violations and accidents, a mission that came to life after a single dinner conversation deeply affected Vanisha.

The Eureka Moment:

Vanisha’s journey began at the dinner table, where she stumbled upon a news report with a shocking statistic - in 2022, over 4,61,312 road accidents claimed 1,68,491 lives in India. That comes down to around 462 deaths per day!

As the daughter of two computer scientists—her father, Gaurav Kheterpal, an MIT and BITS-Pilani alumnus, and her mother, Dr. Jyoti Grover, a professor at MNIT-Jaipur with a PhD in Network Security—Vanisha had technology as a constant part of her upbringing.

“That statistic hit me hard,” Vanisha, the CEO & founder of SurakshaAI, recalls in an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia on how this revelation sparked her desire to make roads safer.

Her curiosity soon turned into action. As her mother was already researching Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), a key part of the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) framework, for quite some time, Vanisha realised that her technical know-how could be applied to real-world road safety issues in India. 

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The Birth of SurakshaAI:

While Vanisha started her research as early as in December 2022, SurakshaAI was formally launched in June 2024 - as a startup focused on leveraging AI and citizen engagement to improve road safety across India.

The SurakshaAI platform stands out among AI startup companies for its unique focus on road safety. It utilises AI to identify traffic violations in real-time, through images and data analytics. Its key stakeholders are not just drivers, but also pedestrians and even roadside bystanders, all of whom can report violations.

“We want to involve citizens at the grassroots level to make a real difference,” says Vanisha to Startup Pedia.

The flagship product of SurakshaAI is Vision Guard, a GenAI-powered system designed to tackle one of India’s biggest road safety issues - blind spots. These areas, obstructed from a driver’s view, are often the cause of severe accidents.

According to a report by the Ministry of Roads Transport and Highways, there are over 700 blind spots across India.

Through a combination of machine learning (ML) algorithms, cameras, and LED displays, Vision Guard detects real-time traffic density and warns drivers with an illuminated red signal.

“It’s not just a passive system. Vision Guard actively analyses the traffic situation to prevent accidents,” Vanisha further explains.

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Overcoming Challenges:

Like any startup, the road to success has been full of hurdles for SurakshaAI. 

The startup is currently bootstrapped and in a pre-revenue stage, with around ₹25,000 spent on developing and testing prototypes.

“We knew that we would face challenges competing in the $74 billion global collision avoidance systems market, especially with big players like Continental and Bosch already there,” admits Vanisha to Startup Pedia.

The biggest hurdle, however, is scaling SurakshaAI to meet the unique realities of Indian roads and traffic. Despite these challenges, the startup has garnered significant attention. 

SurakshaAI recently won the People’s Choice Award in the Junior Category at IIT Guwahati’s TechExpo 2024, a prestigious platform for budding tech innovators. Vanisha was also invited to the Rise Summit by Google in Atlanta, Georgia, which underscores the international interest that SurakshaAI got. 

But the startup's journey is far from over. 

“We are constantly improving Vision Guard’s hardware, particularly the LED display, to make it more efficient and affordable,” Vanisha shares.

SurakshAI is also developing a mobile app where citizens can report accidents or violations and be rewarded for their contributions, fostering a safer and more engaged driving community in India. The app is on track for an October launch.

Vision Guard - the Marquee Product of SurakshaAI:

Much of the heavy lifting in SurakshaAI’s early development has been handled by Vanisha herself. She designed and wrote the backend algorithm that powers Vision Guard and trained the model with vast datasets to improve its accuracy.

“Indian roads are unique; the traffic congestion, the unpredictable weather, the bad condition of roads - every minute detail had to be factored in,” Vanisha says.

The prototype currently uses Raspberry Pi boards and requires significant power, but Vanisha is optimistic about cutting these costs in the next version.

“We aim to make it more affordable without sacrificing functionality,” she adds.

The student startup also plans to introduce a subscription model for commercial and government clients, such as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

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The Road Ahead for SurakshaAI:

So what’s next for this Jaipur startup? 

“We plan to release an upgraded version of Vision Guard by the end of the year, incorporating feedback from road safety experts and government agencies,” Vanisha reveals.

Her ambitious plans don’t stop there! She envisions SurakshaAI scaling beyond India and wants to tackle road safety on the global level. 

“We’re working on developing partnerships with traffic authorities and safety organisations to implement Vision Guard in blind spots across the country,” she explains.

In the short term, the focus remains on improving the platform and expanding its reach across high-accident areas in India. Vanisha’s commitment to her mission is unwavering. While she acknowledges the uphill battle, her resolve is clear. 

“What we’re doing may not be as glamorous as other startups, but it’s extremely important. Road safety isn’t something that should be taken lightly, and we’re making progress, one step at a time,” Vanisha says with determination.

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A Quick Summary:

Vanisha’s story is a reminder that age is no barrier to innovation. At just 16, she is tackling one of India’s most pressing problems - road safety - with the help of cutting-edge AI technology. Her journey with SurakshaAI is just beginning, but it’s already clear that her impact will be far-reaching.

With the support of her technical advisors - her parents, Gaurav and Jyoti Kheterpal - Vanisha is laying the groundwork for what could be one of the most impactful road safety startups in India. 

As the next version of Vision Guard is eagerly awaited, and if early successes are any indication, SurakshaAI is well on its way to revolutionising how we reimagine road safety in India.