How a 22-year-old Indian techie dropped out to build an AI startup

A 22-year-old entrepreneur from India has drawn attention in Silicon Valley after raising pre-seed funding for his artificial intelligence startup and leaving university to pursue the venture full time. Kinjal Nandy, founder and chief executive of Sonatic, claimed he has secured pre-seed funding at a reported valuation of ₹191 crore. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz’s accelerator a16z Speedrun, with participation from angel investors linked to OpenAI, NVIDIA and Meta’s superintelligence teams. The startup works in the area of human-computer interaction, with a focus on AI systems designed to work alongside users rather than operate only through direct prompts.

From small-town India to early startup success
Nandy was born in Burdwan in West Bengal and began working with computers at a young age. He says he started writing code and building websites for small businesses when he was 12 years old.

At 16, Nandy developed a machine-learning tool intended to detect fake news online. According to the company’s account, the product crossed 100,000 users within months and was later sold before he turned 17.


He later launched another startup focused on building an online social platform centred on community support and discussion, and expanded it with a remote engineering team.

Why he left university
Nandy moved to the US and enrolled in Cornell University to study computer science. He eventually decided to leave the programme and relocate to San Francisco. According to Nandy, the decision was influenced by the pace of AI development outside academic settings and his desire to work closer to where emerging AI companies were being built.

What Sonatic is building
Sonatic is focused on developing AI systems intended to become more adaptive over time and assist users across a wider set of activities.The company’s stated approach differs from conventional AI assistants by aiming to reduce manual inputs and increase automation across business and operational tasks.

Nandy has described the broader goal as building systems that help users move from workflows toward outcomes.
Backed by Silicon Valley investors

Sonatic operates from San Francisco and describes itself as an applied research lab working on future AI interaction models. According to information shared by the company, the funding round included participation from investors associated with major AI and technology firms. Andreessen Horowitz has previously invested in companies including Facebook, Airbnb, Coinbase and Stripe.

The funding places Nandy among a growing group of young founders attempting to build AI-first companies as investment activity in the sector continues to expand.

A broader trend in AI entrepreneurship
Nandy’s journey reflects a wider pattern in the technology sector, where younger founders are increasingly entering AI development earlier in their careers and pursuing startups before completing formal education.