What I-STEM does

I-STEM (legally, the Inclusive Science, Technology, and Mathematics Foundation) is a New Delhi-based non-profit technology organization building AI-powered accessibility solutions for people with disabilities (PwDs) across India. Founded in 2019 by Kartik Sawhney (Co-Founder & CEO, ex-Microsoft AI for Accessibility fund lead, Stanford CS) and Shakul Sonker (Co-Founder & COO, ex-UNICEF/UNDP/UK Government accessibility lead, Ashoka University), the organization operates the Nclude platform — an all-in-one digital hub accessible via web, WhatsApp, and IVR — providing accessible content, AI-driven career discovery, job matching, and assistive-technology guidance. I-STEM's technology has been integrated into the Government of India's national Sugamya Bharat app, reaching 20M+ PwDs nationwide.

I-STEM's core technology stack includes AI-powered document and media conversion (processing PDFs, scanned documents, audio, and video into screen-reader-friendly formats — over 2.3 million pages converted), a conversational AI task automation agent (agent.istemai.com) that lets users complete online tasks via plain-language chat on any website without UI modification, an AI career coach grounded in lived PwD success stories, and a voice-first interface across WhatsApp and IVR channels. Supporting programs include the Employment Readiness Fellowship (24 fellows selected from 300+ candidates in 2024-25), train-the-trainer initiatives with disability non-profits (Saksham Trust, Samarthanam Trust, NAB Delhi under the Jyotirgamya program), and income-generation projects that have produced $150,000+ in collective earnings for underserved women.

I-STEM's business model is a hybrid: free product-led growth access for individual PwDs, institutional service agreements (subscription/annual) for universities, NGOs, and corporations requiring accessibility remediation or organized instruction, quotation-based professional services for manual accessibility remediation and testing, and grant funding from corporate and multilateral sources (Microsoft AI for Accessibility, Meta Pragati, Mphasis Digital Naukri, AWS/Deloitte Social Entrepreneur Accelerator, UNICEF, UNDP). Customer segments span PwD individuals (primary), educational institutions and boards (Telangana & Karnataka STEM curricula), inclusive employers (Google, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Meta, Intel, Bosch, D.E. Shaw), and 70+ non-profit partners. The organization has produced publicly available pricing transparency on its website, a notable trust signal for institutional procurement.

Name

I-STEM

Legal name

Inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Foundation

Website

https://inclusivestem.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

I-STEM is a New Delhi-based non-profit building AI-powered accessibility solutions — including the Nclude platform, task automation agent, and document conversion — serving people with disabilities across India via web, WhatsApp, and IVR.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Accessibility Technology

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Accessible Testing, Accommodations & IEP/504 Management Platforms (EDAFAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Education & Accessibility-Optimized Media (UDL, AAC, Captioning) (EDAGALAH)

Keywords

• Disability accessibility platforms
• AI document conversion
• Assistive learning technology
• Inclusive employment programs
• Conversational task automation

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional/Enterprise Service Agreements: A subset of I-Stem services are free for individual PwD users for personal, non-commercial use. Institutional users (academic institutions, organizations, corporations) must enter a service agreement with I-Stem. Organized instruction or customized interfaces for PwDs also constitutes institutional use requiring a commercial agreement.
2. Accessibility Remediation Professional Services: Human-in-the-loop document accessibility conversion: I-Stem converts textbooks and exam materials using AI, then hires and trains local women (many with disabilities or caregiving responsibilities) to verify and perfect converted documents. This generates meaningful, flexible income for workers while delivering 100% accurate accessible content. Has generated over $100,000 in collective earnings for women.
3. Manual Remediation and Testing Services: Quotation-based manual services involving accessibility remediation and manual testing. Work commences only after signing of an agreement amongst both parties. Pricing is transparent and defined on the website.
4. Grants and Program Funding: Funded by grants from corporates and foundations (Meta Pragati: AI for Impact, Mphasis Digital Naukri Challenge, Microsoft AI for Accessibility, AWS/Deloitte SEA) and multilateral organizations. These grants support platform scaling, pilot programs, and AI-driven solution development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

I-STEM sells AI-driven accessibility solutions for people with disabilities (PwDs) delivered through its Nclude platform across web, WhatsApp, and IVR. Core offerings include: an AI-powered document and media conversion engine (PDFs, audio, video to accessible formats with 2.3M+ pages processed), a conversational AI task automation agent that lets users complete online tasks via chat without changing website UI, an AI career coach grounded in PwD lived experiences, and accessible audio library for independent learning. Institutional customers and educational institutions access these via service agreements, while individual PwDs use the platform for free.

Product overview

I-Stem offers a unified platform architecture centered on the Nclude platform, complemented by specialized AI-powered tools and programs. The core Nclude platform serves as the digital hub providing accessible library, career discovery, and job connections, while the Task Automation Agent enables conversational task completion on any website. Supporting programs include the Employment Readiness Fellowship, income-generating accessibility projects, and the Train the Trainers initiative. All services are delivered through accessible channels (web, WhatsApp, IVR) and powered by AI capabilities including document conversion, NLP, and voice interfaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nclude: An all-in-one digital hub for people with disabilities offering an accessible library, career discovery, job recommendations, and guidance on benefits and assistive tech, powered by AI and accessible via web, WhatsApp, and IVR.

Products and services

• Nclude Platform All-in-one AI-powered digital hub for people with disabilities offering an accessible library, career discovery, job recommendations, and up-to-date guidance on benefits and assistive tech. Powered by AI grounded in lived experiences of PwDs. Available on web, WhatsApp, and IVR.
• Task Automation Agent AI-driven conversational agent that enables users to complete online tasks (ecommerce, forms, services) via plain-language chat on web and WhatsApp without changing the original UI/UX. Available at agent.istemai.com.
• I-Stem Fellowship Program (Employment Readiness Fellowship) Six-week employment readiness fellowship for high-potential students and young professionals with disabilities, providing individualized career coaching, 1:1 mentoring, industry mentorship, interview preparation, and access to exclusive opportunities. The 2024-25 cohort selected 24 fellows from 300+ candidates.
• Accessibility Remediation Services (Automated & Manual) Professional services that convert inaccessible PDFs, scanned documents, audio, and video into screen-reader-friendly text, captions, and transcriptions — using AI combined with human-in-the-loop verification. Manually converts documents to be WCAG-compliant. Manual testing and remediation are quotation-based with a signed agreement; automated services have published pricing.
• Income Generation via Accessibility Projects Hires and trains local women (many with disabilities or caregiving responsibilities) to verify and perfect AI-converted accessible content, generating meaningful flexible income. Has generated over $100,000 in collective earnings supported by Intel, Bosch, and D.E. Shaw.
• Train the Trainers (Jyotirgamya Program) Partner program that trains PwD instructors in accessibility tools and teaching skills via partners (Saksham Trust, Samarthanam Trust, NAB Delhi under the Jyotirgamya program), who then deliver hands-on workshops in their communities with ongoing platform support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ PwDs impacted, 2.3M+ pages made accessible, 18,000+ jobs accessed, $150,000+ collective earnings, present in 15 states with 70+ nonprofit partners.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and flagship.

• The/Nudge InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe/Nudge Institute is I-Stem's most frequent collaborator across multiple programs. It co-convened the Stanford event where Kartik Sawhney spoke on entrepreneurship for social good, powered the Pragati: AI for Impact grant (Meta-sponsored), powered the Digital Naukri Challenge (Mphasis-sponsored), and runs the Social Entrepreneur Accelerator with AWS and Deloitte. The/Nudge Institute identifies and supports I-Stem in high-profile grant competitions and acceleration programs.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS co-runs the Social Entrepreneur Accelerator with Deloitte, providing hands-on cloud training and guidance to I-Stem. Sessions covered harnessing data at scale, streamlining operations, and ensuring platform reliability as I-Stem's digital hub grows. AWS cloud solutions are being leveraged to supercharge I-Stem's AI-powered platform and impact.
• DeloittecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDeloitte co-runs the Social Entrepreneur Accelerator with AWS, providing strategic inputs, challenging assumptions, and offering sustainable-growth strategies to fine-tune I-Stem's operating model for maximum social impact. Deloitte's experts helped I-Stem develop a 6-12-month plan to optimize AI workflows, launch new features, and ensure platform robustness.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerI-Stem partnered with UNICEF in 2023 to scale its web/WhatsApp/IVR platform for enhancing access and livelihoods. UNICEF collaboration enabled expansion of career discovery and job-search features, and supported I-Stem's work to reach underserved PwD communities with accessible technology.
• inAblecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerI-Stem partnered with inAble (Kenya) on the IScribe project — an AI-powered virtual scribe enabling blind and visually impaired students to take exams independently without relying on a human scribe. The Microsoft AI for Accessibility grant supported joint development. Students in both India and Kenya were to pilot the solution.
• Samarthanam TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamarthanam is I-Stem's key collaborator for the Inclusive STEM Confluence 2024-25. It co-organized the event with I-Stem, bringing together PwDs, corporates, universities, and nonprofits for innovation, networking, and career connections. Samarthanam provides the organizational infrastructure and PwD beneficiary network for joint initiatives.
• OpenAInotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpenAI's VP Srinivas Narayanan moderated the Stanford event hosted by The/Nudge Institute where I-Stem's Kartik Sawhney spoke on entrepreneurship for social good. OpenAI's involvement signals recognition of I-Stem's work in the broader AI and social impact ecosystem.
• Government of IndiaflagshipTechnology or IntegrationThe Government of India's logo appears among I-Stem's partner logos. More significantly, I-Stem's technology and solutions have been integrated into the Sugamya Bharat app — the national accessibility app — expanding access to 20M+ PwDs nationwide.
• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)flagshipTechnology or IntegrationDEPwD, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, launched the Sugamya Bharat app with I-Stem's technology integrated. The app is the go-to national platform for accessibility in India, providing access to information, resolution of accessibility issues, and I-Stem's services to millions of PwDs.
• UNDPnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNDP is listed among I-Stem's trusted partners. Shakul Sonker has previously led large-scale accessibility projects with UNDP, helping roll out practical solutions that improve access around the world.
• Saksham TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaksham Trust is partnered with I-Stem under the Jyotirgamya program for the Learning 4 All initiative's train-the-trainer component. PWD instructors are trained in both accessibility tools and teaching skills, then deliver workshops in their communities.
• Samarthanam TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamarthanam Trust is partnered with I-Stem under the Jyotirgamya program for train-the-trainer initiatives under Learning 4 All. Samarthanam is also a co-organizer of the Inclusive STEM Confluence 2024-25, bringing significant beneficiary networks.
• NAB DelhicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAB Delhi is partnered with I-Stem under the Jyotirgamya program for the Learning 4 All initiative's train-the-trainer component. PWD instructors are trained in accessibility tools and teaching skills, then deliver hands-on workshops in their communities.
• UNFPAnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) is listed among I-Stem's trusted partners. The UNFPA logo appears alongside other major organizations on I-Stem's homepage, reflecting a partnership supporting I-Stem's accessibility and inclusion mission.
• IIT Madras (The ARC)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIT Madras invited Co-Founder Kartik Sawhney to deliver sessions at the ARC (Accessibility Research Collective) Learning Program. Kartik led sessions on AI and accessibility, sharing I-Stem's experience in building Nclude. Faculty and researchers gained practical perspectives on applying AI for accessibility and inclusive innovation.
• IIIT BangalorenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIIT Bangalore co-hosted the Inclusive STEM Confluence 2020 alongside I-Stem, E-Health Research Centre (EHRC) at IIIT Bangalore, Vision Aid, Vision Empower, and XRCVC. The event brought together 120+ participants from IT industry, technical institutions, and disability-focused NGOs over two days.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/istemindia
• Facebookfacebook.com/istemtech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inclusive-stem
• Instagraminstagram.com/istem_tech

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about I-STEM