Four 22-year-old VIT Vellore students turned a hackathon idea into an AI mental health app, bagged ₹5 lakh seed grant

Mental health is no longer an afterthought for the new generation. GenZs and the millennials now take their mental health equally, if not more, important than their physical health. And the timing is accurate: lines between work and life are blurring, social media is constantly inducing anxiety, there are waves of new ideas (JOMO, FOMO, boundaries), and therefore, amidst all of this, everyone needs their peace of mind. 

More and more youngsters are asking: “What am I doing?” “Why am I feeling this?” “How am I really doing?”

Therefore, these sensitive conversations are no longer happening in the darkness of night, but have taken the forefront. Colleges now have campus wellness programs, corporations have mental health kits, and even the government is taking notes. Mental health is having its moment and rightly so. 

Unfortunately, despite such momentum, a shadow of doubt still exists in many parts of India. Mental health still carries a cultural stigma, making people hesitant to admit that they are struggling. Because let us face it, our friendships, jobs, and families are still not structured in a way to support our emotional and mental health. 

Indian support systems are patchy, less equipped with resources or mental space to tend to us. Therefore, the industry is also undergoing a paradox: while public awareness is increasing, the infrastructure needed to respond to rising cases is not increasing at the same pace, which leaves a jarring void in between.

A recent report estimates the mental-health apps segment alone reached roughly US $497.9 million in 2024 and is projected to grow to about US $1,409.3 million by 2030, corresponding to a CAGR of ~18.5 % between 2025 and 2030. This gap is where the opportunity is as well. 

According to various global reports, around 1 in 4 people will experience a mental-health condition of some sort in their lifetime. In India alone, the burden of untreated mental health crises is rising, impacting and adding to social costs. 

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Tranquil AI steps in to bridge this gap.

Conceptualised and founded by four engineering students turned startup founders from VIT Vellore, Tranquil AI was born in the midst of restlessness, anxiety, curiosity, and conversations at a college hackathon. The four founders – Shreyas Tiwary (Co-founder & CFO), Arihant Bharadwaj (Co-founder & CEO), Ritwik Tripathi (Co-founder & CTO), and Ashutosh Kala (Co-founder & COO) were friends who shared pleasantries here and there, but had one thing in common: all 4 of them had at some point experienced relentless mental health struggles during their academic journey. 

All 4 of them sat down for their JEE exam in the midst of the volatile COVID-19, a time marked by adversity, constant uncertainty, and isolation. Long study hours, constant shift in exam dates, social detachment, and anxiety around catching the virus led to massive academic pressure, which had left an indelible mark on each of them. These scars stayed with them even when they joined college. 

They saw their peers suffer from this emotional turmoil, and many weren't able to synthesise their experiences at all. 

So when the hackathon happened, the idea of bringing mental health to the forefront came naturally

“We decided that mental health would be the problem we would tackle because we all have had our run-ins with mental health earlier as well,” Shreyas Tiwary, Co-founder & CFO of Tranquil AI, said. 

When they had this idea, they started seeing signs everywhere. 

• classmates who seemed fine, but were silently battling burnout with no resources in sight 

• friends who were unavailable all the time because of public exhaustion 

• even some instances of substance abuse and self-harm

All of this painted a very grim picture, that mental health distress was invisible and seeking help was still nowhere an idea, despite so much dialogue going on elsewhere. 

Around the same time, AI was increasingly being adopted by the public for everyday tasks, which prompted a question in the minds of the founders of Tranquil AI: Can technology be used to solve emotional problems as well? 

When the hackathon arrived, the 4 startup founders decided to test this idea by channeling their shared experiences (and those of their peers) into something meaningful. 

They brainstormed – to build something less technical, less mechanical, and more emotive. A tech companion that could actually listen. A space where one could talk, reflective – without being judged, scrutinised and psychoanalysed. 

Their first prototype was built in a rush, succumbing to a deadline. It was an elementary, conversational AI. It did not win the hackathon, but it gave the founders a sense of conviction. It made them realise the need for such technology and they decided to pursue it further. 

“We didn’t win the prize, but the feedback we got changed everything. “People told us this could actually help someone. That was enough for us to take it forward,” said Arihant Bharadwaj, Co-founder & CEO of Tranquil AI, while talking to Startup Pedia.

The young entrepreneurs kept nurturing and restructuring the idea, and continued participating in programs to gain feedback. A pivotal moment arrived with Thingqbator (an innovation program by NASSCOM & Cisco, for student startups). 

It made them refine their product and make it a market fit by revamping the business model canvas, refreshed market strategy, and more. 

Tranquil AI emerged as one of the top 10 student startups in India, securing a ₹5 lakh seed grant. The funding boosted their confidence in the service and also solidified their purpose ahead. 

Eventually, when the 4 friends graduated in May 2025, they chose not to take up traditional job offers and instead devoted themselves full-time to building Tranquil AI: a platform that would make emotional wellness accessible, affordable, and stigma-free. 

“We saw that in the corporate world too, mental health was taking a toll. People under performance pressure, constantly anxious, and with no outlet. We wanted to build something that helps you before you reach that breaking point,” Ritwik Tripathi (Co-founder & CTO) mentioned.

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Tranquil AI & Its Trajectory

The first version of Tranquil AI was launched in March 2025 as a completely free-to-use service. It had a triple combination of – 

• AI-powered conversation, 

• mood tracking, journaling, 

• personalised analytics,

Designed to help users understand and manage their emotions over time. The USP was that Tranquil’s model was trained on data, techniques, and insights from real psychologists, which made it more attuned to the users’ emotions, as opposed to other apps that are generic chatbots with template responses. 

This made Tranquil AI stand apart, and thus it quickly gained attention from users. Within months, the platform had recorded over 25,000 conversations, received five-star ratings on both iOS and Android, and built a loyal user base that found genuine comfort in its AI companion.

In mid 2025, the young entrepreneurs began testing a premium version priced at only ₹199 per month, ensuring that cost would never become a barrier to mental-wellness support.

“We didn’t want mental health to be a luxury. We wanted to democratise access. Everyone deserves to talk, to heal, and to grow, and AI can help make that happen,” Ashutosh Kala, Co-founder & COO, remarked when Startup Pedia enquired on the pricing.

With each new update, the mission at Tranquil AI was very simple: to bridge the gap between need and help, one conversation at a time.

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How Tranquil AI Works? 

Tranquil AI is different from other mental health apps in more ways than one, primarily because it places a deep focus on experience by aiming to emulate the continuity, care, and emotional awareness of a real conversation. 

“The model has been trained specifically for mental-health and mindfulness discussions, using datasets curated by psychologists and well-being experts,” Shreyas Tiwary, Co-founder & CFO of Tranquil AI, mentioned while explaining the features to Startup Pedia.

Tranquil AI utilizes data from various sources to refine its model after consulting with experts in this field. This clinical insight ensures the AI isn’t just responsive, it’s responsible. 

Tranquil keeps track of mood logs, journal entries, and past chats to understand each user’s unique emotional rhythm. Tranquil functions as a digital companion that grows with you: learning patterns, offering insights, and responding with empathy rather than algorithms.

Today, Tranquil AI is trusted by thousands who have made it part of their daily wellness routine. With over 1,000 active users, 12,000+ recorded sessions, and more than 1,000 personal journals completed, the platform is quietly building a movement of mindful, emotionally aware individuals. 

Beyond individual users, Tranquil is also making inroads into colleges, corporates, and institutions, offering institution-ready dashboards, anonymous wellness analytics, and engagement insights that help communities prioritise mental well-being at scale. Its custom branding options, 24/7 crisis support integration, and referral systems make it a plug-and-play solution for organisations looking to foster healthier, more resilient teams. 

Already, Tranquil has supported over 500 students, achieved a 95% user satisfaction rate, and maintained 100% privacy protection, reflecting its commitment to both empathy and ethics in mental wellness.

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