Young entrepreneur Adhiraj Chauhan is harnessing AI to advance mental healthcare, behavioural technology and environmental innovation, while creating opportunities for wider social impact.
NEW DELHI, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For Adhiraj Chauhan, a student at Amity International School, curiosity has been more than an academic pursuit. It has shaped an interest in exploring unfamiliar fields, questioning established approaches and finding practical applications for emerging technologies. That breadth of interest is reflected in his achievements, which include the Startup India (DPIIT) Recognition for AI Venture, India’s Young-Preneur Award, recognition for Most Innovative Solution at the Harvard Sustainability Impact Summit, and a Best Research Paper distinction at the Oxford Global Academic Summit.
Having been selected by NITI Aayog as one of only two students as a speaker at the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, he presented his startup before an audience that included representatives from technology organizations such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI.
His work also drew appreciation from Deepak Bagla, Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission under NITI Aayog, who commended its foresight and nation-building potential.
These achievements build on earlier successes in student innovation and research. Chauhan previously won an IIT innovation competition, received the CSIR Jigyasa Award, and earned the CBSE National Science Fair Award.
Behind these recognitions is an interest in applying technology to problems that affect people’s everyday lives. One such challenge is access to mental healthcare. India has approximately 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, against the three per 100,000 recommended by the World Health Organization. The scale of the need becomes more apparent alongside WHO estimates that one in seven adolescents globally experiences a mental health condition.
It is within this gap between the need for support and the availability of professional care that Chauhan has focused his flagship venture, AIR, an AI-assisted mental health app, developed under his company Delta AI Revolution.
AIR is designed to support users experiencing anxiety, depression and trauma-related challenges. Developed with clinical inputs from Dr. Sandeep Vohra, former Head of Psychiatry at Max and Apollo Hospitals, the platform draws on cognitive behavioural therapy methodologies and counselling frameworks to facilitate structured conversations, document interactions and identify behavioural patterns over time.
According to Delta AI Revolution, AIR has reached more than 40,000 users across seven regional languages. Its approach seeks to reduce barriers associated with cost, geography, language and the stigma surrounding mental healthcare, while recognising that AI-assisted support cannot replace the judgement of qualified professionals in diagnosis and treatment.
The venture has attracted institutional backing through seed-stage funding under the Government of India’s TIDE programme, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Adhiraj Chauhan has subsequently been recognized as the Visionary Young Leader in AI & Innovation at the Outlook Business Awards and as Young AI Entrepreneur of the Year at the BW Businessworld Awards.
His interest in mental healthcare and understanding human behaviour has also led him into the emerging field of behavioural digital representations. Working with a professor from the Wharton School, he is developing AI-powered Digital Twins that model individual preferences, motivations, personality traits and decision-making patterns. Using behavioural frameworks, surveys and validation mechanisms, the technology aims to simulate how individuals might respond in different situations.
Chauhan’s interest in applying AI to real-world challenges extends beyond human behaviour to the environments on which communities depend. Water quality is one such area, where pollution can disrupt aquatic ecosystems, threaten biodiversity and compromise water sources used for agriculture and human consumption. The scale of the challenge is considerable: according to the Central Pollution Control Board, 296 polluted stretches were identified across 271 Indian rivers, highlighting the importance of timely monitoring and early intervention.
It is against this backdrop that Adhiraj Chauhan has developed an AI-enabled unmanned marine vehicle designed to assess water quality in real-time. By tracking changing conditions, the technology could help identify emerging pollution concerns and support more informed responses. He has filed a patent for its core technology and licensed it to an external company for commercial deployment.
Chauhan’s entrepreneurial efforts extend beyond his own ventures to creating opportunities for other aspiring founders. Through collaborations with accelerators and mentorship networks, he is working to make entrepreneurial guidance, resources and support more accessible, helping young innovators translate their ideas into viable, sustainable ventures.
Across healthcare, behavioural AI, environmental technology and entrepreneurship, Chauhan’s work reflects a consistent commitment to addressing real-world challenges, using technology to strengthen human capabilities and create opportunities for wider social impact.
About Amity International Schools
Amity International Schools is one of the oldest school chains in Delhi NCR, imparting value-based education with a global perspective.
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