Outlook Business Desk
Former Flipkart CTO Peeyush Ranjan and Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal launched Fermi.ai on January 23, an AI-first edtech startup aimed at guiding high-school students in STEM learning in India and the US.
Fermi.ai, headquartered in Singapore, runs subsidiaries in India and the US. Launched in a pilot and product-discovery phase, the cloud-based platform is freely accessible, allowing students to explore and learn STEM concepts online.
Ranjan pointed out that AI often gives quick answers, weakening students’ understanding. Fermi.ai was created to support productive struggle, guiding learners to solve problems step by step instead of bypassing the learning process.
Fermi.ai differs from typical AI tools by withholding final answers. Students solve problems step by step using a stylus-first, canvas-based interface, writing equations and drawing diagrams like traditional pen-and-paper problem solving.
Fermi.ai covers maths, physics and chemistry, offering an adaptive tutor, handwriting-first canvas, curriculum-linked concept graphs with exam-aligned questions, and diagnostic tools to pinpoint where students’ reasoning breaks down.
Fermi.ai identifies gaps in students’ reasoning instead of hiding them. Teachers can monitor silent struggles, while integrated AI models from OpenAI and Google assess logic, ensuring student data from schools remains private and secure.
During a three-month pilot with 79 students completing over 15,000 concept tests, learners who initially scored two or below improved by 4.68 points on average, while overall mastery levels increased by 2.6 points.
Fermi.ai is piloting in Bengaluru, north India and Silicon Valley. The startup plans gradual scaling, focusing on refining the product and ensuring AI-guided learning meets both classroom requirements and independent student needs before full expansion.
Fermi.ai, fully funded by Meraki Labs, remains free during its pilot phase. Monetisation is expected per student, while the platform serves both as a classroom assistant for teachers and an independent STEM tutor for learners.