Former Google General Manager and Vice President Peeyush Ranjan has launched Fermi.ai, an AI-first edtech startup aimed at reimagining high school STEM education across India and the United States. Headquartered in Singapore, the platform seeks to move beyond answer-focused learning by using artificial intelligence to understand how students think, reason, and arrive at solutions. The initiative marks Ranjan’s latest entrepreneurial foray following leadership roles at Google and Flipkart.
Fermi.ai begins with math, physics, and chemistry, core subjects where conceptual clarity and structured reasoning are critical. Unlike conventional digital learning tools that primarily evaluate correct or incorrect responses, the platform analyses students’ problem-solving pathways. By mapping reasoning patterns, Fermi.ai aims to identify gaps in understanding early and provide targeted interventions that strengthen foundational thinking skills.
“Students today are getting answers faster than ever, but their understanding is getting weaker,” said Ranjan, former CTO of Flipkart. “We built Fermi.ai to support thinking, not replace it, and to give educators visibility into struggles that usually stay hidden.” His vision reflects growing concern among educators that widespread access to AI-powered answer engines may be accelerating superficial learning rather than deep comprehension.
The startup has emerged from Meraki Labs, an incubation initiative co-founded by Mukesh Bansal, founder of Myntra, and brings together expertise in large-scale technology platforms and consumer-first product design. Bansal emphasised the platform’s focus on cognition rather than rote outcomes. “It’s about showing students how they think, and helping teachers guide them back to mastery,” he said.
Fermi.ai is designed to act as an intelligence layer for classrooms, offering educators actionable insights into student reasoning at both individual and cohort levels. By highlighting misconceptions, flawed assumptions, or incomplete mental models, the platform enables teachers to intervene with precision rather than relying solely on test scores or homework completion.
The company plans to work closely with schools and educators in both India and the US, adapting its models to different curricula and learning contexts. Its cross-border approach reflects the universal challenge of maintaining academic rigor and conceptual depth in an era of rapidly advancing AI tools.
As debates intensify around AI’s role in education, Fermi.ai positions itself not as a replacement for teachers, but as a partner that enhances pedagogical effectiveness. By centring learning on reasoning and mastery, the startup aims to set a new benchmark for AI-enabled education in the high school STEM landscape.
