Peeyush Ranjan and Mukesh Bansal launched Fermi.ai today, on January 23, an AI-first edtech startup focused on high-school STEM education in India and the United States. Ranjan is a former Google and Airbnb executive who also served as CTO of Walmart-owned Flipkart. Mukesh Bansal is the co-founder of Myntra and the former Head of Commerce at Flipkart.
Former Flipkart executives launch AI-first edtech startup Fermi.ai
The Singapore-based startup has emerged from the Meraki Labs ecosystemand operates through subsidiaries in India and the US.
Fermi.ai is available for free on the cloud, as the company remains in a pilot and product-discovery phase, as reported by Moneycontrol.
Ranjan told MC that the company was built to address growing concerns that AI is increasingly being used as a shortcut rather than a learning aid.
“Students are getting answers faster than ever but their understanding is getting weaker,” Ranjan said. “Learning happens through productive struggle. What we’ve tried to build is an AI tutor that supports that struggle instead of replacing it.”
Fermi.ai is built around four core pillars. Its adaptive real-time tutor offers step-by-step guidance instead of final answers for students to work through challenges independently.
A handwriting-first, stylus-based smart canvas allows learners to solve equations, draw diagrams, and work through problems in a way that mirrors traditional classroom thinking.
The platform also includes a concept graph-driven question bank aligned with exams such as AP, IB, and JEE, and a diagnostics layer that shows specific gaps in reasoning for both students and educators.
For students, the platform has features such as Homework Assist, personalised practice, and targeted revision, shifting learning from guesswork to concept ownership.
For educators, Fermi.ai provides classroom-level insights that surface misconceptions and highlight areas of “silent struggle” that often go unnoticed.
Ahead of its public launch, the AI-driven edtech platform ran a three-month pilot involving 79 students and over 15,000 concept tests.
The AI startup claims that students who initially scored poorly showed significant improvement over time, with overall mastery scores rising consistently and reliance on hints dropping by 21 per cent.
As AI continues to enter classrooms worldwide, Fermi.ai is aiming to be a mastery-first alternative, focused on strengthening fundamentals rather than opting for shortcuts.
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