Vishal Sunil, Co-Founder and CTO of Rocket Learning on Using AI to Scale Early Childhood Education Across India
- Admin
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
In this compelling episode, Vishal Sunil, Co-Founder and CTO of Rocket Learning, offers a nuanced and forward-looking perspective on the intersection of artificial intelligence and early childhood education in India. Rocket Learning, a social impact organization working with over 3.2 million students across 10 Indian states, is radically transforming how foundational learning is delivered to underserved communities. The organization’s vision is to ensure that every child, particularly those aged 0 to 6, reaches their full potential by empowering both caregivers and early childhood educators through scalable, tech-enabled interventions.
Central to Rocket Learning’s success is its deep integration with India’s vast public daycare infrastructure, the anganwadi system. These centers, which serve a majority of the country’s early learners, were historically under-resourced and underutilized for educational purposes. Rocket Learning is spearheading efforts to convert anganwadi workers into effective early childhood educators, a mission now backed at the national level through initiatives such as “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi” — a government campaign that integrates nutrition with learning and is supported by a significant financial commitment.
What sets Rocket Learning apart is its product philosophy: pragmatic, accessible, and deeply embedded in community. Rather than building flashy new platforms, the organization leverages ubiquitous tools like WhatsApp to facilitate parent-child and teacher-child engagement. Their pedagogy prioritizes social reinforcement by fostering community-based learning environments, where shared participation amplifies motivation and adoption. By rejecting highly individualized and gamified approaches in favor of communal learning, they offer an alternative paradigm rooted in behavioral science and cultural context.
The discussion takes a particularly insightful turn as Sunil introduces Appu, Rocket Learning’s new voice-based, AI-powered tutor developed in collaboration with Google.org. Appu is not merely a chatbot, but a human-centric educational interface designed to engage children in two-minute voice conversations tailored to their learning level, interests, and local context. The system is engineered with a guardrail framework — ensuring safety, consistency, and pedagogical alignment — while still offering dynamic, personalized experiences. This form of “guided discovery” allows children to learn through everyday interactions, and it encourages parents to participate actively in the process, thereby reinforcing learning through familial bonding.
Multilingualism, minimal screen time, and culturally responsive design are at the core of Appu’s development. The tool is already operational in several Indian languages and can be quickly adapted to new linguistic and regional contexts, with the ambition of one day serving learners globally. Importantly, Rocket Learning is not just interested in innovation for its own sake. As Sunil notes, the organization is committed to rigorous evidence-building. Their forthcoming randomized controlled trial, conducted in partnership with J-PAL, will offer critical insights into the impact of AI tutors on early childhood learning outcomes — potentially shaping global policy and philanthropy in this domain.
Sunil’s personal journey, from a data scientist in the United States to a purpose-driven social entrepreneur in India, is emblematic of a new generation of technologists who view scale not just as a metric, but as a moral imperative. His reflections are deeply grounded in the lived experiences of Rocket Learning’s users — parents who sacrifice convenience for their child’s future, and educators who evolve from caretakers to catalysts of cognitive development.
About Vishal Sunil
Vishal Sunil is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Rocket Learning, one of India’s largest non-profits advancing early childhood education through technology. Vishal leads the development of AI models designed to ensure every child has access to quality education, empowering them to be school-ready. His work focuses on creating scalable, tech-enabled solutions that democratise AI for all, with a commitment to human-centred design that ensures educational tools are inclusive, accessible, and tailored to the needs of underserved communities across India.
Before founding Rocket Learning, Vishal co-founded Kestrel Agritech, an agritech company that leveraged drone-based thermal imaging to reduce crop losses, and Parfect Market, a platform promoting economic mobility. He also worked as a Data Analyst at McKinsey & Company and Nielsen Visual IQ, where he honed his expertise in data-driven problem-solving and innovative decision-making.
Vishal was named in the AI100 list, an initiative by YourStory and AWS that highlights India’s top emerging AI leaders and a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2022 honoree. Vishal holds a BA in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Rochester and a MicroMasters in Data Analytics, Economics, and Development Policy from MITx. His work is inspired by the evidence-based approaches of Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, and he remains committed to advancing AI responsibly to create equitable educational opportunities for all.
Useful Links
Google partners with Rocket Learning to launch AI tutor Appu - The Times of India