India | 3 years | Assistive Smart Tech
Founded by Aishwarya Tulsi, Prathyusha Potharaju and Vivian Manohar in June 2021, Grailmaker Innovations creates assistive technology for people with visual impairments.
What are they building?
Spacefelt: A smart label and audio guidance system that helps visually impaired and deaf users navigate public spaces on their own.
VisionNanny: A web-based tool that supports early intervention for children with cortical visual impairment (CVI).
The why?
Grailmaker Innovations was founded by Aishwarya Tulsi, Prathyusha Potharaju and Vivian Manohar to address everyday barriers faced by visually impaired people — challenges they’ve both seen and personally experienced.
For Aishwarya, one defining moment came during her psychology studies when she was denied the chance to handle classroom equipment, with a professor questioning why visually impaired students should even be there. Another moment hit harder in a public restroom, where poor design led her to mistakenly use a men’s urinal, thinking it was a sink.
These weren’t just personal frustrations — they revealed deeper, systemic gaps in accessibility.
Working as a rehabilitation counselor, Aishwarya also saw families of children with cortical visual impairment struggle to access affordable therapy. Together with Prathyusha and Vivian, they decided to act.
Prathyusha and Vivian knew Grailmaker was born to build inclusive, affordable solutions like VisionNanny , an early intervention tool for children, and Spacefelt, a navigation system using smart labels and audio guidance — helping people move through the world with greater confidence and dignity.
SEED Inclusivity Program Journey
The SEED Inclusivity Program has been a turning point for Grailmaker Innovations. One key milestone was refining the pricing for VisionNanny — finding a balance between affordability for families and sustainability for the team. They also expanded Spacefelt beyond visual impairment by adding sign language videos, moving closer to their vision of universal design.
A core part of their approach has been the experimentation mindset: testing early and often with real users — from visually impaired individuals to caregivers and accessibility experts. This feedback loop drives every improvement, whether it’s adding audio customizations, adjusting design, or exploring new use cases, ensuring their solutions stay meaningful and effective.
The program also opened new perspectives on funding, partnerships, and scaling.
Recent Achievements
- Made art exhibitions accessible for 65+ visually impaired visitors with Spacefelt
- Partnered with LV Prasad Eye Institute in Odisha
- Reached 91 children with at-home therapy using VisionNanny
- Empowered families to support therapy, reducing the need for center-based care
- Boosted digital skills among local field workers using the app
- Selected as a finalist for the Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneur Awards 2025
- Selected in the 2024 Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list (Social Impact category) for their pioneering work in inclusive assistive technology
“The SEED Inclusivity program offered invaluable mentorship and a team that was always there—helping us transform our vision into reality with personalized support.”
— Aishwarya TV Pillai