Meet Raul John Aju, teen prodigy building India’s next big AI tool

At just 16, Kerala resident Raul John Aju has already built more than 10 Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, founded his own company, and advises two governments. Yet, on the sidelines of CTOTalks 2025 in Chennai, the teenage founder of Arm Technologies was remarkably grounded.

“You can’t just jump into AI thinking you’ll earn a lot of money because AI is there,” Raul said. “Right now, it’s all VC money.”

Law-based ‘rescue project’

Raul heads Arm Technologies, where his father also works. He serves as an AI advisor to the governments of Kerala and Dubai, contributing to civic-tech projects like JustEase, which uses AI to guide citizens through legal and bureaucratic processes. Now, his focus is on something even more ambitious — Project 47X, a legal-tech initiative he calls his “rescue project.”

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“It’s a law-based tool. Not a lot of people know what to do in an emergency,” he explained. “This AI connects you with the right lawyer, tells you what laws apply, and even identifies the nearest police station.” The system also helps users draft and verify contracts, and suggests legal strategies based on past judgments. “It’s not 100 per cent accurate,” he admits, “but we’re trying to help lawyers and citizens as much as possible. There are over 53 million unresolved cases in India — we’re just trying to make access faster.”

MeBot clone

Raul’s journey began with MeBot, a digital clone of himself he built for a school science fair. “Another kid made a robot out of cardboard that could say hi back,” he recalled. “I thought — what if you could make it actually think?” By training an AI model on his voice and vocabulary, Raul created a bot that could replicate his teaching style for international students. “When I wasn’t available, it could explain things the way I do,” he said.

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His youth often makes him an unlikely presence at global tech events. “At GITEX in Dubai, someone said, ‘He’s a baby, he can’t enter,’” Raul laughed. “By the end of the day, I earned their respect.”

Vision for India

Beyond coding, Raul is a passionate advocate for accessible AI education through online content and workshops. He wants India to lead its own innovation race by focusing on research, practical skills, and problem-solving.

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“AI isn’t magic,” he said. “It’s boring math and data — just prediction. Once people understand that, they’ll stop fearing it.” Raul has a message for the world rushing to automate everything: “In AI, the most important skill is being as human as possible. No one should forget that.”