24-YO B.Tech Launches Innovative AI-Based Tech Startup To Reunite Missing Individuals With Family

Jhansi’s Dhruv Gupta always thought of pursuing a worthwhile career that would help him create an impact on society. Meanwhile, a family tragedy unfolded some unspoken raw truths about India before his eyes. When an elderly family member went missing, and they could not trace him even after contacting the police and trying their best, he felt it was an ongoing issue with no solid solution. 

Dhruv remembered seeing regular newspaper columns featuring advertisements seeking information about missing relatives and realised the gravity of the existing problem in so many families. People lose their loved ones, and search to the best of their capabilities but are often unsuccessful in locating them.

Especially, elderly people, children and mentally challenged individuals are always at a risk of permanently getting separated from their families. The family tragedy made young Dhruv determined to find a solution to the serious problem. After completing B.Tech, he decided to do something to help families find their missing relatives very quickly.

In an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia, techie-turned-startup founder Dhruv Gupta shared how with his father’s support and guidance, he planned to start a platform that would quickly help find missing people all over the country.

24-year-old Dhruv Gupta and his 25-year-old cousin Abhishek Gupta launched their bootstrap startup, Khoji after planning for 2 years, allocating resources, meeting Ministry officials and attending relevant events. While Dhruv is a B.Tech, Abhishek is a B.Tech and MBA. Taking the funds from his father, Dhruv invested around Rs. 30 Lakhs in the startup.

“My father backed up the whole thing,” Dhruv told Startup Pedia. “From inspiring to putting in the effort and giving us the money, he is supporting our venture from the start. Although, we might raise the first round pre-seed funding if needed.”

About Khoji

Founded in December 2024, Khoji.in is India’s first patented web-based platform which is a one-click solution for finding missing persons.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, around 20.36 lakh persons have been reported missing in the six years from 2016 to 2021. An average of 3.4 lakh people were reported missing each year or 930 persons every day or 39 persons every hour during these six years.

However, there is also a missing population that stays unrecorded in the government databases.

Mostly, children, senior citizens, women, and people with mental disabilities in India go missing or remain unidentified in NGOs, orphanages, and shelters annually. 

This situation brings tragedy to the concerned families while creating a significant financial burden for the government.

Khoji.in addresses this problem by providing a unified platform that brings together all key stakeholders—police, NGOs, the victim’s family, and social workers—to collaborate effectively.

Khoji’s advanced AI technology specifically identifies and matches missing persons quickly and accurately, reducing the time and cost associated with traditional search methods.

The innovative technological startup aims at simplifying and expediting the process of finding and reuniting missing individuals, providing hope and relief to families while saving valuable resources for the government.

Dhruv Gupta-founded startup’s mission goes beyond just reuniting missing individuals. The platform also aims to restore the emotional connections lost in unfortunate circumstances. Khoji received 4 granted patents and 6 registered patents (in process). 

Jhansi-based startup Khoji.in envisions a world where this big issue of missing cases is solved.

“We are committed to scaling our solution worldwide, recognising that the need to identify and reunite missing persons is a universal challenge that requires an innovative and collaborative approach,” said Khoji’s Dhruv Gupta. 

Since its launch just 1.5 months ago, Khoji.in has already resolved over 65 cases, reuniting individuals who had been missing for years or months with their families.  

Dhruv and Abhishek represented as Indian delegation in Finland for Slush 2024.

Different search options on Khoji platform

Families of missing individuals will be given a handful of options to search from - face photo, identity, and filter. 

Quick Identification with face photo

Khoji.in uses a face photo to quickly identify missing persons and contact their families. Even if the person’s face has changed in the meantime, the powerful AI algorithm will scan and find out the best matches and produce them before the clients. 

Its powerful face recognition algorithm enables families, police, NGOs, and social workers to locate missing individuals without needing any verbal details.

Search by Identity

A missing person is easily verified by searching with government-issued IDs. This feature helps identify individuals quickly and contact their families, especially in emergencies. The search-by-identity feature helps identify missing persons by selecting a specific ID and providing instant search results from a record.

Real-Time Alerts

Also, registered members receive immediate notifications when a missing person is found. Khoji’s system sends alerts through various channels, and a secure calling feature connects families directly with searchers, including police and NGOs.

How Khoji.in works for Police & NGOs

The NGOs and police can appeal for the identification of unidentified individuals. They are already uploading the details on Khoji’s interface so that family members of missing individuals can search the database from the comforts of their homes.

Also, if the missing individual has been rescued by the government or any NGO, then those details would also be displayed. For instance, it would reflect in which shelter the person could be found.

For now, this service is free for NGOs and the government, but soon it will be chargeable.

How Khoji.in works for clients

The patented web-based platform to find missing individuals works in 2 plans - 3 months and 1 year. One can opt for either of these plans after uploading the details of the missing person.

The 3-month package price is Rs. 599 while the upcoming 1-year package would cost around Rs. 1,000-1,200.

Also, an Indian citizen can create a profile in advance on Khoji for precaution if they have an aged or mentally challenged person at home. For them, there are a 1-year and 3-year package. The 1-year and the 3-year packages are priced at Rs. 400 and Rs. 699 respectively. 

“Our systems use advanced AI technologies that are quite expensive,” Khoji’s Dhruv Gupta candidly shared with Startup Pedia.

Besides that, the founders have to bear a lot of expenses in travel, contacting relevant persons and officials, tracing information, etc. 

"All of that costs on our part. So, our services are chargeable. However, we give quick and appropriate results unlike traditional methods used by the government in tracking missing individuals. Their method can be lengthy and often unfruitful," he added.

Khoji core product

You can make your family safe with Khoji.in by adding your family members' profiles in advance to keep your family safe. A registered user will get instant alerts and calls if any accident or emergency happens to family members anywhere. 

Traction and Achievements  

65+ Cases Solved: In a short span since our launch, Khoji.in has helped reunite missing individuals with their families and assisted authorities in identifying unknown individuals.

Widespread Adoption: Police, NGOs, and social workers across India are actively using our platform to simplify their work and achieve faster results.  

Government Partnerships: Khoji.in is an official partner of the Government’s DigiLocker, ensuring secure and reliable data management.  

Recognition: The platform operates under NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, a prestigious government initiative supporting innovation in India.

In a month and a half, Khoji has generated Rs. 20,000 in revenue. Because it's a new niche, Dhruv and Abhishek together toil for promotion, government affiliations and running campaigns. They continuously visit the police stations to get the missing cases.

Khoji is an 8-member team now. Other than the Gupta brothers, 4 employees provide technological support, and 2 are marketing personnel. Dhruv’s father is not officially in the team but he keeps overseeing and keeping track of all work.

“We are helping the government by saving its money and resources,” Khoji founder Dhruv shared with Startup Pedia. “Using hi-tech tools, we are solving missing cases much faster than the traditional methods used by the government. Besides, when we connect the family to its missing relative, the government or NGO’s shelter cost gets saved.”

Dhruv Gupta’s upcoming plans with Khoji.in

In future, Dhruv aims for Khoji to help the police in tracking criminals, solving murder cases with the identification of fingerprints, traffic management etc.

The newly launched startup’s founder is about to start a new feature to find missing vehicles around the country.

Every day, hundreds of vehicles are stolen in India, yet there’s no easy way to identify them. Many stolen vehicles end up in the second-hand market, sold to innocent buyers without any means of verification.

To solve this, Khoji.in is launching an "online vehicle verification service" that allows users to check if a vehicle is stolen or flagged as suspicious before purchase.

This ensures a safer second-hand market and helps law enforcement track stolen vehicles more efficiently.

“Missing or stolen vehicles is another big issue in India,” remarked Khoji’s Dhruv Gupta. “So, we have plans to start that service too. Our advanced AI tools would be beneficial in tracking missing vehicles and hopefully curb the illegal business with stolen vehicles.”

Khoji is already gaining popularity. More and more people are taking it to notice. However, Dhruv wants more cooperation from the government. It opened an option on their portal to find missing individuals during the Mahakumbh 2025.

“We want cooperation and collaboration from the ministries,” disclosed Dhruv Gupta. “Especially, if the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Home Affairs support us, things would happen fast. If we do it all by ourselves it would take a longer time. But if the Ministers recommend us to the concerned departments, we’ll be able to solve missing cases promptly!”

 Vision

Dhruv wants to speed up the missing and unidentified person identification within 5 years.

“5 years from now, with the help of technology, any missing person’s identification can be revealed instantly, by a click,” claimed the AI-based startup founder. “Like we use Ola/Uber with a click, UPI payments with a click, missing person identification will be done with a click. By then we would help reduce government costs even more. The cost for missing cases borne by the government will be almost erased when people can be traced in a moment!”

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