At 17, Navya Tuteja faced a ChatGPT ban at school - then built an AI startup of her own | Success Story

Navya Tuteja, 17, built Raaha, a free AI platform helping neurodivergent job seekers assess listings before applying. Her school’s ChatGPT ban shaped how she uses AI, while the startup has reached 1,000 users.

When Navya Tuteja wanted to build an AI company, she did not have to look far for a problem worth solving.

Her mother is hard of hearing, and Tuteja had also noticed a recurring gap in the way employers advertise jobs: listings often explain what companies want from candidates but say little about what the work itself might feel like.

Who is Navya Tuteja and why did she build a new AI platform

That observation became Raaha, a free platform designed to help neurodivergent job seekers assess whether a job listing could suit them before they spend hours applying. Two months after its launch, the platform had more than 1,000 users and 20,000 job listings, according to Fortune.

Tuteja, 17, is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, a selective magnet school outside Washington, DC. She has also become president of the school’s AI club while developing the platform alongside her studies.

The unusual part of her story is that the school where she developed her interest in AI does not allow students to use popular generative AI tools on its Wi-Fi. ChatGPT, Claude and similar services are blocked.

Tuteja told Fortune that the restriction initially meant she used AI much less during school hours. Over time, however, she felt the limitation forced her to work through problems herself, particularly when studying for exams.

She has continued that distinction voluntarily. Tuteja said she does not use AI for schoolwork or learning, particularly for subjects in which she will be tested. For Raaha, however, she wrote the underlying algorithm herself and used AI mainly for more mechanical tasks, including aspects of the website’s design.

Outside school, she uses AI to draft emails and organise or interpret information when she is short on time.

Trisha Bhattacharya