I-Stem

Founded by Kartik Sawhney (Co-Founder & CEO) and Shakul Sonker (Co-Founder & COO) , I-STEM started from a lived problem most people never see: blind students who want to study science often have to create their own textbooks because accessible STEM content simply doesn’t exist.

Today, I-STEM builds AI-powered accessibility solutions that make information, learning resources, and digital services usable for people with disabilities—delivered through channels that actually work at scale, including web, WhatsApp, and IVR .

What are they building?

I-STEM is building an AI-powered accessibility layer that helps people with disabilities access content and complete real tasks—especially when websites, PDFs, and forms weren’t designed for them.

It enables accessible learning content (including complex STEM materials) for people with print disabilities, and powers Nclude , an all-in-one hub with an accessible library, career discovery, job recommendations, and guidance on benefits and assistive tech—available via web, WhatsApp, and IVR.

Their approach combines AI-driven content conversion with human verification to ensure reliable, usable outputs at scale, and integrates with India’s Sugamya Bharat app to expand accessibility pathways through a public channel.

The why?

I-Stem Named Global Finalist | AI for Good Impact Awards 2025

The story begins with something that should be basic for any student: having your own books.

In the interview, Shakul shares that when he was in school and college, accessible STEM textbooks simply didn’t exist—so he had to create them himself. His mother would dictate textbooks for hours, and he would type them out, every day.

That lived reality became the blueprint for I-STEM: if education, jobs, and public services are moving online, accessibility can’t be an “add-on.” It has to be built into the way information is shared and used.

And the impact shows up in individual moments. Shakul describes a blind engineering student who struggled to apply for jobs because the digital platforms weren’t accessible. After using I-STEM’s voice AI, she was able to apply successfully—and got the job. He says stories like these are what let him “sleep well throughout the night.”

SEED Inclusivity Program Journey

I-STEM leaned into SIGMA fast—and Shakul’s feedback is simple: it helped them think better.

He describes how SIGMA supported designing sprints, identifying audiences, clarifying value propositions, and pushing the team to critically analyze their own solution—surfacing angles they “probably wouldn’t have even thought about.”

He also highlights the value of the bootcamp community and sessions—especially fundraising—because assistive tech founders often need investors and mentors who understand niche-market challenges and impact realities.

Recent Achievements

50,000+ PwDs impacted

2.3M+ pages made accessible

$150,000+ in collective earnings generated through accessibility work

18,000+ jobs accessed

Coverage across 15 states

Supported by global ecosystems including UNICEF Innovation Fund

Highlighted by Microsoft for accessibility work leveraging Azure AI for document recognition and structure retention

Named in the AI for Good Impact Awards 2025 context

“Now when I see these students, they have books, they have resources. It basically fills me with nothing but gratitude.”

— Shakul Sonker, Co-Founder of I-STEM