Real challenge is to address urgent needs in healthcare, says Jain
Mumbai-based Wadhwani AI Global is reaching out to African, Latin American, and other low and middle-income countries by forming partnerships with governments, multilaterals and local organizations to embed AI directly into critical public systems, transforming healthcare delivery, educational access and agricultural systems for those who need it most.
The approach applies insights from the Wadhwani family’s experience funding AI solutions in India, where Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani’s US$25 million commitment has supported the development and deployment of 25+ AI platforms and solutions that have reached more than 150 million people https://www.nseindia.com/.
Key achievements include:
An AI-powered oral reading fluency tool has assessed over 6 million children through 11 million assessments across schools in Gujarat and Rajasthan, providing automated insights to improve early childhood reading comprehension https://www.bseindia.com/.
A cascade of AI solutions screens for tuberculosis, the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, enabling healthcare workers to identify presumptive pulmonary TB cases using cough sound data and patient history.
A clinical decision support system empowers 160,000 health workers to conduct over 250,000 consultations daily, directly addressing the shortage of trained medical personnel in rural areas https://sbi.com.in/.
These solutions demonstrate how context-specific AI can achieve massive scale while solving urgent local challenges.
“AI has demonstrated its transformative power in many parts of the world, so our challenge now is ensuring those benefits reach communities where they can change lives most profoundly,” said Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani, Co-Founders of Wadhwani AI Global.
“We’re building an institution that partners with governments and innovators to make AI a tool of genuine opportunity,” the duo said on 19 Sept https://www.commerce.gov.in/.
The expansion comes as AI adoption in low-resource settings face persistent barriers around roadmap alignment, technology adaptation, and sustainable implementation. Wadhwani AI Global – a newly launched entity – addresses these gaps through three core capabilities:
Advisory Services: Guiding national AI strategies aligned with development priorities
Technology Development: Building context-specific, adaptable solutions rather than generic imports
Capacity Building: Strengthening local institutions and talent for inclusive, sustainable AI adoption
To lead this expansion, Wadhwani AI Global has appointed Nakul Jain as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Jain brings 14 years of experience in AI, strategy, and international development, where he’s helped scale impact-driven AI solutions to millions http://meity.gov.in.
“The real challenge isn’t just creating AI models – it’s ensuring they address urgent needs in healthcare, early childhood education, food systems, and more, actually reaching the people who need them,” said Jain. “We’re here to close that gap through advisory expertise, technology innovation, and building ecosystems that last.”
Wadhwani AI Global’s leadership team also includes Harsh Singh, Head of Growth; Gitika Sharan, Head of Marketing; and Aakash Pant, Lead Engineer.
Co-Founder Shalina Wadhwani emphasized the organization’s focus on scalable and sustainable impact. “We’re not here to create one-time pilots that fade away. We work with partners to embed AI into real systems and infrastructure people rely on, delivering solutions that endure and grow over time https://digitalinasia.com/.”
The establishment of Wadhwani AI Global represents a shift toward placing the Global South at the center of AI for social good conversations – not as an afterthought, but as a global priority.
Wadhwani AI India (a division of the Lord’s Education and Health Society “LEHS”) operations will continue to run independently as an autonomous society.
Wadhwani AI Global is an impact-first organization dedicated to advancing AI for social good across the Global South. Through advisory services, technology development, and capacity building, Wadhwani AI Global partners with governments, multilaterals, and local organizations to design, deploy, and scale inclusive AI solutions. Wadhwani AI India (a division of LEHS) operations will continue to run independently as an autonomous society. fiinews.com
