India | 9 years | Assistive Technology & Education
Founded by Dilip Ramesh, Aman Srivastava, Sanskriti Dawle, and Saif Shaikh, Thinkerbell Labs created something that didn’t exist before: a way for blind children to learn braille on their own.
Their flagship product, Annie—named after Helen Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan—is the world’s first self-learning braille literacy device.
With over 1,000 hours of gamified content, Annie teaches visually impaired children how to read, write, and type in braille independently. What started as a university project has now reached 300+ schools across India and 7 countries worldwide, redefining what’s possible in inclusive education.
What are they building?
Annie is a smart braille device that makes learning to read and write in braille engaging, independent, and accessible for visually impaired children aged 5-15.
Beyond Annie, Thinkerbell Labs is launching Tactera—a next-generation braille display for high school students, university learners, and professionals. While Annie teaches you how to read, Tactera helps you read to learn—making education and workplace productivity accessible at every stage of life.
The why?
The four co-founders came together during university, each bringing different motivations. For Dilip, it was the perfect intersection of three passions: engineering, entrepreneurship, and grassroots education. As a computer science student, he spent years volunteering with an NGO focused on education, eventually leading a team of 120 volunteers.
When the opportunity to work on braille literacy arose, it felt too good to pass up. But what truly crystallized their mission was meeting the children and teachers who would use Annie.
One moment stands out. At a school in Pune, a third-grader named Prathamesh ran out of his classroom and demanded to join a training session meant for older students. “No, this isn’t for you yet,” the team said. But Prathamesh wouldn’t take no for an answer. After an hour of training, he was teaching the older kids.
Prathamesh went on to appear on a major Indian TV show, becoming a national symbol that visually impaired children can be just as bright and capable as their sighted peers. Airports recognized the device. Schools started saying, “We want the next Prathamesh from our school.” He’s still a brand ambassador today.
Then there was the teacher at a recent conference who quietly said she’d been using Annie for three years. “It’s completely integrated into how I teach,” she explained. For Dilip, that sustained usage—not just initial excitement—proved Annie was solving a real problem.
Nearly a decade in, Thinkerbell Labs has proven that independence is the starting point for inclusion.
SEED Inclusivity Program Journey
Dilip admits he was skeptical at first. Weekly mentorship meetings? Would that really be useful? But working with his mentor from the impact investment space, changed everything.
“I was looking to learn more about impact investors and institutional funding—that’s an area we hadn’t explored much,” Dilip explains. His mentor helped him navigate that world, opening doors to networks and strategies he couldn’t access alone. “I’m already seeing the impact in my work. I can plan better and reach areas that were previously out of reach.”
The timing was perfect. Thinkerbell Labs is raising their fourth funding round and launching Tactera, their second product. The SEED program helped them think strategically about business models, value propositions, and market validation—all critical as they scale.
One major validation moment came during the program: UNICEF released an RFP for assistive technology bundles that aligned almost perfectly with Annie’s specifications. “We’ve always been proud to be category creators,” Dilip says. “Now organizations like UNICEF are recognizing that category.”
The peer group was equally valuable. Spending three days together in a foreign country created bonds deeper than typical conference networking. “These aren’t just professional acquaintances—these are real connections I’ll carry forward.”
Recent Achievements
- 300+ braille smart classrooms deployed across India
- Exporting to 7 countries including the US (where Annie is sold as “Polly”)
- Partnership with ONCE (Spain) to localize Annie into Spanish for Latin America
- Selected for UNICEF’s iCare program for assistive technology bundles
- Accepted into University College London’s 80:20:30 program for assistive tech startups
- Prathamesh became national brand ambassador after appearing on major Indian TV
- Launching Tactera in March 2026 – next-gen braille display for older students and professionals
- Manufacturing 850 new Annie units to meet Q4 demand
- Raising Pre-Series A round with 80% already committed ($1.8M target)
- 39 full-time employees building innovative assistive technology
“A teacher told us she’s used Annie for three years with multiple students. Short-term success is easy—you demo, they like it. But three years? Completely integrated into her daily work? That’s true impact. That’s when you know it actually solves a problem.”
— Dilip Ramesh, Co-Founder & CEO