Kirthiga Reddy: Meta India Ex-Head Announces AI Platform For Women

Kirthiga Reddy believes that "empowering India's women in artificial intelligence isn't local impact, it's global transformation." She is set to do just that with her soon-to-launch platform called 'AI Kiran'. Through this, Reddy, the CEO & co-founder of Verix, looks to put Indian women on the global map, provide connectivity, funding and mentorship. AI Kiran is debuting on April 21 as part of the UN creativity and innovation day, according to Silicon India.

Who Is Kirthiga Reddy?

Kirthiga Reddy, 54, is an Indian-American tech businesswoman. Born in Chennai, Reddy grew up in a middle-class family, where her father was a government employee. She earned a B.E. in computer science from MGM's College of Engineering (Marathwada University) in Nanded, and stood second.

Following her graduation, Reddy moved to Nagpur with her parents and briefly worked with renowned computer scientist Yashavant Kanetkar, helping him with the programming examples in his books to illustrate key concepts. She moved to the United States for her MBA from Stanford University and an M.S. in computer engineering from Syracuse University. 

Reddy broke glass ceilings at many reputed companies like Motorola, Silicon Graphics, etc. She was a venture partner--the first female investor--for SoftBank's US$100 billion Vision Fund. Reddy joined Facebook in 2010 as the first employee in India. She was Managing Director, Facebook India and South Asia for over six years. She has also served as Chair of the Stanford Business School Management Board. 

Kirthiga Reddy's New Project

Today, Kirthiga Reddy is the founder-CEO of Verix, which is launching AI Kiran. “This initiative combines a vibrant membership community with access to mentorship, curated learning programmes, branding support, and high-impact events – creating valuable opportunities for growth, visibility, and leadership," she told Silicon.

She added that the timing is crucial, as although women outnumber men in STEM courses in India, it is estimated that women account for only 33% of Gen-AI roles at the junior level in India, and this drops to 19% at the senior level. Reddy said, "India’s AI market is poised to reach $17 billion by 2027... women are a leading force in shaping and operating transformative technologies." 

AI Kiran is being launched in collaboration with the office of the principal scientific adviser to the government of India and the INK Women organisation. The platform is also backed by Nasscom, 100 GIGA, AspireForHer, Udaiti Foundation, Youth Ki Awaaz and Karya.