About Paatam
Every answer has a story. We help schools understand it.
Paatam.ai is an early-stage startup building teacher-first AI for Indian schools. We started in Andhra Pradesh in 2026, and we’re building Paatam together with our first schools.
- Founded
- September 2026
- Recognition
- DPIIT-recognised startup
- Based at
- Ratan Tata Innovation Hub, Visakhapatnam
- Next
- Pilots with 5 schools from Diwali 2026
Our vision
A future where every student is understood.
పాఠం (paatam) means lesson in Telugu. We chose the name because every assessment holds one: about what a student understands, and what they need next.
Today, much of that lesson stays on the answer sheet. Our vision is to make learning more visible, personalised and actionable by connecting assessment data with meaningful support from teachers and families.
Every assessment is an opportunity to understand a student better.
Where we start
Handwritten assessments, teacher-led insight
Helping teachers evaluate answer sheets and understand each student’s learning, with every result reviewed by the teacher.
What we’re building toward
A continuous learning loop
Connecting assessments, teachers, students and parents, so each assessment informs what happens next in the classroom and at home.
The long-term ambition
Every student understood
Learning that is visible, personalised and actionable for every student, in schools across India, from large city schools to small rural ones.
The founders
Built by people who know AI, and people who know how children learn.
Good assessment needs both: technology that can read and evaluate at scale, and an understanding of how students learn and how feedback lands. Paatam’s founders bring one each.
The AI lens
Bhargav Atluri
Co-Founder & CEO
10+ years scaling enterprise AI and customer experience solutions across Asia-Pacific, Japan and China at Cisco, Ericsson and Infobip.
- Enterprise AI
- Go-to-market
The learning lens
Nikitha Atluri
Co-Founder & Head of Learning
Psychologist, educator and counsellor: the learning-science lens behind the product, from how feedback is worded to how students are supported.
- Instructional Design
- Social Emotional Learning
The founders work with a team of AI engineers, educators and psychologists, including practising school teachers who keep the product grounded in real classrooms.
Where we are
We’re at the beginning, and building it with schools.
Paatam is a young company. Rather than claim what we haven’t done yet, here is exactly where we stand, and where we’re going next.
Be one of our first pilot schools.
Pilot schools shape Paatam around their own classrooms, assessments and teachers.
Talk to us about a pilotSeptember 2026
Company incorporated
ABC Learning Technologies Private Limited is founded in Visakhapatnam, with an office at the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub.
2026
Recognised by DPIIT
Paatam is a DPIIT-recognised startup under the Government of India’s Startup India programme.
October 2026
Product and website launched
The grading desk is built, and paatam.ai goes live with a narrated product demo.
From Diwali 2026Next
First pilot schools
Five schools in Andhra Pradesh are in discussion to start pilots with their own teachers and classes.
Responsible by design
Education data deserves care. Teachers deserve control.
Principles we build Paatam around, and that schools can hold us to.
Teachers hold final authority
Assessment outcomes are decided by teachers. AI output is a suggestion until a teacher approves it.
Every AI result is reviewable
Suggested marks come with a rationale, so teachers can see why — and change it.
Parent messages need approval
No feedback or update reaches a parent without the teacher’s sign-off.
Student information handled with care
Student work is treated as sensitive, and it is never used in public demonstrations like this one.
Honest about what AI can do
Handwriting varies and AI can make mistakes. That is exactly why teacher review is built into every step.
See Paatam in your school.
Book a walkthrough for your leadership team, or partner with us on a pilot.