When Kushal Sinha, Ph.D. (IIT Guwahati, UW alumnus, and AI expert) and Piyush Kumar (serial entrepreneur) set out to reinvent online learning, their vision was bold: merge the gamified engagement of Duolingo with the seamless e-commerce of Shopify. The result is VEGA AI—an applied research lab that’s building the “professor of the future,” a hybrid human-AI educator capable of scaling impact far beyond what any single teacher can achieve.
Fueled by $180K in angel checks from friends and family—and a relentless focus on practical solutions—VEGA AI survived multiple pivots to land on a winning formula. By 2024, the team had achieved product-market fit, securing paid clients, improving student outcomes, and underscoring the profitability of its model with deals with Allen Global - a contract with booking value in multi million that validated their approach.
At the platform’s core is a specialized AI agent called VEGA - Virtual Entity for Guidance and Assistance, which allows anyone to create Duolingo-style learning experiences with unprecedented ease. Users interact with engaging digital avatars while educators build and monetize entire courses within the platform, all without the complexity typical of first-generation ed-tech.
“Our goal was to remove the barriers that made online learning cumbersome,” says Kushal. “With VEGA AI, building an interactive course is as easy as launching a Shopify store, but with the engagement that keeps learners coming back.
”The benefits are tangible: a 28% reduction in operational costs, a 37% jump in revenue, and a 25% increase in lead conversion for many VEGA AI users. Institutions like The Doon School in India and Allen Global leverage the platform for everything from AP and JEE prep, reflecting VEGA AI’s adaptability across diverse educational needs.
Beyond numbers, VEGA AI focuses on truly personalized learning through real-time data integration and knowledge graphs. This is not just another AI layer on top of existing foundation models; it’s an “agentic AI system,” as Kushal describes it, built to provide educators with actionable insights while enabling students to excel through interactive, adaptive experiences.
“We’re building software and models that push the edge of what’s both useful and possible in education,” says Piyush. “By making data-driven teaching accessible and enjoyable, we empower educators and learners to transcend traditional boundaries.
”Already benefiting hundreds of thousands of students, VEGA AI’s ultimate mission is to show the world a future of education where AI breaks language barriers, offers 24/7 support, and lets teachers expand their reach in ways once unimaginable.
Fueled by $180K in angel checks from friends and family—and a relentless focus on practical solutions—VEGA AI survived multiple pivots to land on a winning formula. By 2024, the team had achieved product-market fit, securing paid clients, improving student outcomes, and underscoring the profitability of its model with deals with Allen Global - a contract with booking value in multi million that validated their approach.
At the platform’s core is a specialized AI agent called VEGA - Virtual Entity for Guidance and Assistance, which allows anyone to create Duolingo-style learning experiences with unprecedented ease. Users interact with engaging digital avatars while educators build and monetize entire courses within the platform, all without the complexity typical of first-generation ed-tech.
“Our goal was to remove the barriers that made online learning cumbersome,” says Kushal. “With VEGA AI, building an interactive course is as easy as launching a Shopify store, but with the engagement that keeps learners coming back.
”The benefits are tangible: a 28% reduction in operational costs, a 37% jump in revenue, and a 25% increase in lead conversion for many VEGA AI users. Institutions like The Doon School in India and Allen Global leverage the platform for everything from AP and JEE prep, reflecting VEGA AI’s adaptability across diverse educational needs.
Beyond numbers, VEGA AI focuses on truly personalized learning through real-time data integration and knowledge graphs. This is not just another AI layer on top of existing foundation models; it’s an “agentic AI system,” as Kushal describes it, built to provide educators with actionable insights while enabling students to excel through interactive, adaptive experiences.
“We’re building software and models that push the edge of what’s both useful and possible in education,” says Piyush. “By making data-driven teaching accessible and enjoyable, we empower educators and learners to transcend traditional boundaries.
”Already benefiting hundreds of thousands of students, VEGA AI’s ultimate mission is to show the world a future of education where AI breaks language barriers, offers 24/7 support, and lets teachers expand their reach in ways once unimaginable.
