Nikhil Velpanur builds AI for the people. He is the founder of en2.ai, an applied AI lab in Bangalore building AI to help real humans navigate a complex world. He works on interfaces between citizens and the state, multilingual voice agents and simulation-based training for the frontline officials who actually deliver public services in India, and delegated agent systems. Before starting en2.ai he led digital innovation for Amazon Web Services across India and South Asia, and was part of the founding team at the Wadhwani Institute for AI, the world's first nonprofit research institute dedicated to AI for social good, where he built the partnerships that embedded AI into India's public health infrastructure. He published a counterculture magazine at twenty, co-founded India's first indigenously built 3D printing company, and helped create a toll-free line for human-wildlife conflict cases for farmers in southern India. He now writes about what AI does to human creativity - and is the author of 'Can Submarines Swim?'
Areas of Expertise
3D printing, AI, Augmented reality, Design, Entrepreneurship, Photography, Poetry, Prototyping, Public and digital infrastructure, Public health, Writing