“With India projected to  be a global AI powerhouse, empowering its women in this space isn’t just local impact — it’s global  transformation.” Kirthiga Reddy, who was once the first employee and Managing Director of Facebook India (now Meta) and later the first female investing partner at the AI-focused over $130B SoftBank’s Vision Fund, is more than sure of what she wants to do with her new platform AI Kiran.

Reddy, now the CEO & co-founder, Verix, a global trust-tech platform, is the brain behind AI Kiran which aims to put Indian women in AI on a global stage, enable connectivity, funding and mentorship. AI Kiran is launching on April 21 in conjunction with UN creativity and innovation day. The timing is crucial , for despite women outnumbering men in STEM courses in India, it is estimated that women account for only 33 per cent of GenAI roles at the junior level in India and this drops to 19 per cent at the senior level.