About Us

Thinkerbell Labs is an assistive and accessibility technology company dedicated to transforming braille literacy and expanding access to education, information, and opportunity for blind and visually impaired individuals.

We build innovative products for learners of all ages, from early braille literacy to higher education, employment, and independent living. By combining thoughtfully designed hardware with intelligent software and AI-powered technologies, we are creating an ecosystem that empowers individuals throughout every stage of their journey.

Our vision is a world where accessible technology removes barriers, enabling every visually impaired individual to learn, work, and thrive independently.

How It All Began

Thinkerbell Labs, formerly known as Project Mudra, began as an independent research project at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, with a simple question:

How can technology make braille education more accessible?

The idea took shape when co-founders Sanskriti Dawle, Aman Srivastava, Dilip Ramesh, and Saif Shaikh developed a braille alphabet song box using a Raspberry Pi. The overwhelmingly positive response from visually impaired students and educators revealed a much larger challenge: the need for modern, accessible solutions that could transform braille literacy.

Determined to understand the problem firsthand, the founding team learned braille themselves and worked closely with students, educators, and schools to better understand the challenges of teaching and learning braille. Those experiences laid the foundation for Annie and continue to shape Thinkerbell Labs’ mission of building assistive technology that empowers blind and visually impaired individuals through every stage of life.

From an Idea to a Global Accessibility Company

In 2016, Thinkerbell Labs was incubated by MassChallenge UK, marking an important milestone in our journey. During the programme, we had the opportunity to demonstrate Annie to William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, who learned to type “George” in braille using the device.

Later that year, Thinkerbell Labs was officially incorporated and received early backing from Anand Mahindra and the Indian Angel Network. Their support helped transform a university research project into a company focused on advancing assistive and accessible technology for blind and visually impaired individuals.

Thinkerbell Labs demonstrating Annie at MassChallenge UK.

The Thinkerbell Labs team holding a company sign.

Today, Thinkerbell Labs is powered by a multidisciplinary team of engineers, designers, educators, and accessibility advocates committed to building technology that creates greater access to education, employment, and independence.

Alongside our core team, a dedicated network of interns, advisors, collaborators, and partners has played an invaluable role in helping us grow and amplify our impact.

Our Team

The Thinkerbell Labs team together in the office.

Our Investors

Anand Mahindra

Namita Thapar

Anupam Mittal

Mr. Raman Roy

Let’s Venture

Indian Angel Network

Lenskart

Sketchnote

Our Board Members

Rajesh Navaneetham

Board Member Operations & Strategy

Awards and Grants

Quest 2019 Winners
Winner India 2018
Bronze Awarded
COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) Award
Winner, South Zone, 2019
Winner 2018
Grant Awarded
Felloship and Mentor
Best Social Innovation
Incubated 2016
Winner 2018
Winner 2016
Winner 2017
Winner 2016
Global Entrepreneur Programme
Top 2 Startups
Quest 2019 Winners
Winner India 2018
Bronze Awarded
COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) Award
Winner, South Zone, 2019
Winner 2018
Grant Awarded
Felloship and Mentor
Best Social Innovation
Incubated 2016
Winner 2018
Winner 2016
Winner 2017
Winner 2016
Global Entrepreneur Programme
Top 2 Startups

Innov8ability prize, 2026.
SHELL SIA grant, 2025.
ATF Jury's choice award, 2025.
SEEDstars Cohort, 2025.
Lauded by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan, 2024.
Recipient of the National Startup Award 2021 by the Government of India.
Recognised by TIME as one of the Best Inventions of 2022.
Recommended by NITI Aayog as an innovative assistive technology solution.
Incubated at EmpoWer by Zone Startups.
Winner, Social Alpha Quest (Assistive Technologies), 2019.
Winner, Economic Times Leaders of Tomorrow, 2019, South Zone.
Winner, ASME iShow India & Global finalist, 2018.
Winner, London Acumen Pitch Event.
Winner, Great Tech Rocketships, 2016 - Department of International Trade, UK Gov.
Winner, 500K BIZ Launchpad - Deshpande Foundation (given out by Mr. Narayan Murthy).
Winner, Dell Startup Challenge.
Winner, Aarohan Social Innovation Awards by Infosys Foundation.
Winner, Bumble Community Grant, 2020.
Awarded the Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) Grant by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, 2020.
Winner of 1st edition of Techbharat 2020.
Best Social Innovation - InTech50 (given out by Mr. Amitabh Kant).
Winner of the Nasscom Social Innovation Forum grant.
Top 2 startups at the VILCAP accelerator.
Selected for the Reliance Jio GenNext Accelerator.
Annie Nominated for Prime Minister's Excellence Award.
Elevate 100 selected startup - Govt. of Karnataka.
Winner of BIRAC- Social Alpha Quest for Assistive Technologies, supported by Mphasis, 2020.
Winner, BITS-75 Charitable Trust and Center for Emerging Technologies.
3rd prize at the Global Social Venture Competition.
Global finalists, top 10 at the Entrepreneurship World Cup, 2020.
Top 10 in Asia, Cartier Women's Grant, 2020.
Winner and Top 7 startups, Anjal Z Mass Challenge, 2021.
Winner of Dell ElevatED Challenge, 2021.