18 Under 18 Is Back: Indian Teenagers Who Didn't Wait for College (Part 1)

Six years ago, in 2020, a small edtech team we were running called Wademy put together a booklet called 18 Under 18. It profiled eighteen young Indians who had built, invented, composed, competed, or painted something remarkable before they turned eighteen. At the time it was mostly an inspiration piece for students. We printed it, a few thousand people downloaded it, and that was that.

Wademy eventually evolved into what is now Stride Ahead. Same founder, same obsession with what makes a student actually stand out, different name and a much broader product. And over the last few years, a specific question has come up in almost every parent conversation we have:

It turns out the 2020 list is a pretty good answer. Not because every kid on it became a billionaire, they didn't, and not because every project survived, several quietly fizzled, but because the patterns across the eighteen profiles are unusually consistent. And because the world has tilted even further in favour of kids who build things early. AI makes it easier. Open-source tooling makes it easier. Shark Tank India now routinely features 14-year-olds with funded startups. An average motivated teenager today has more leverage than a well-connected 25-year-old had a decade ago.

Why we're relaunching this as Part 1

Three reasons. One, the world has shifted even further toward early builders. The original 18 is worth revisiting with six years of hindsight. Some are still at it and have built real companies. Some went quiet. Both stories are useful. Two, we want to give parents and students a concrete, non-hyped answer to 'what does extraordinary look like?' It is not magic. There is a pattern. Three, we want to add newer achievers. Part 1 ends with current 2024-2025 Indian teens worth watching, to make the point that this is not a museum piece.

What follows is the original eighteen, updated with what we could verify publicly in 2025. Where we couldn't verify, we say so. We do not make things up about people's lives.

The original 18

Tenith Adithyaa

Serial inventor, started age 5

By 17, Tenith had filed three patents, attempted two Guinness World Records, and picked up ten international awards. His best-known invention is a technology that preserves banana leaves without chemicals, turning them into a viable biodegradable plastic substitute. Mentored at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2016.

What parents should notice: He started tinkering at 5. His parents didn't push him toward a specific career. They gave him time, materials, and took his experiments seriously.
Where he is now (2025): Running multiple organisations including Tenith Innovations and Banana Leaf Technology, still working on plastic pollution and sustainable materials.

Shravan & Sanjay Kumaran

Founders, GoDimensions — ages 12 and 10

The Chennai brothers founded GoDimensions in 2011 and had eleven apps across the App Store and Play Store before they turned 16. First app: Catch Me Cop. They became two of India's best-known child CEOs and picked up a Forbes 30 Under 30 mention.

What parents should notice: Their father, a tech executive, didn't call it a distraction. He treated it like work. The apps weren't toys, they shipped.
Where they are now (2025): Both finished Computer Science at Texas A&M. Shravan is a Software Developer at Salesforce in San Francisco; Sanjay has done engineering stints including Microsoft.

Angad Daryani

Maker (SharkBot, now Praan) — started age 8

Left formal school early, spent six hours a day with a tutor, built his own version of the open-source RepRap 3D printer at 13, designed SharkBot as India's first home-grown 3D printer, and invented the Virtual Brailler (a text-to-braille e-reader for blind students). All before 18.

What parents should notice: His family chose a non-standard education path because his actual interests were being crushed by the standard one. They didn't quit on academics, they restructured around the kid.
Where he is now (2025): Founder and CEO of Praan, a Mumbai-based deeptech startup building filterless air purifiers, backed by Microsoft and the Marico Foundation. Volunteers and engineers from Tesla, SpaceX, Apple and Microsoft contribute. He is 25.

Piyush Agarwal

Inventor of Preventwet — age 16

Watched his mother scramble to pull clothes off the line every time it rained and built an auto-actuating cloth-line that senses humidity and retracts itself. Patent application filed by NIF (157/DEL/2012), Limca Book of Records entry.

What parents should notice: He solved a problem he saw in his own house. Not a grand problem, a daily annoyance. That is often the best starting material.
Where he is now (2025): Publicly visible activity has quieted post-2020. We will not speculate.

Anand Gangadharan & Mohak Bhalla

Walkie Mobi Charger — school science project

Turned a science exhibition project into a compact shoe-heel attachment that charges a phone from walking kinetic energy. Nothing about AI or tech startup. Just a real physical thing that actually worked.

What parents should notice: A school science exhibition can be a throwaway grade or a first prototype. It depends almost entirely on whether the parents and teachers take it seriously after the display is packed up.

Yugratna Srivastava

Climate activist, addressed UN at age 13

In 2009, at twelve, Yugratna addressed a hundred world leaders at the UN Summit on Climate Change in New York, the youngest person ever to do so at that level. Went on to deliver three TED talks and served on the UNEP/TUNZA Junior Board representing Asia-Pacific.

What parents should notice: She didn't build anything tangible; she built a voice. That is also a valid path, and it is underrated in India, where achievement is usually framed as marks or startups.
Where she is now (2025): Continued climate and sustainability work, including a role at Capital for Climate.

Priyanshi Somani

Mental calculator, world champion at 11

Won the Mental Calculation World Cup in 2010 at age eleven. Calculated square roots of ten six-digit numbers in 2 minutes 43 seconds. The only competitor in Mental Calculation World Cup history to score 100% accuracy in addition, multiplication, and square roots across all five events she entered.

What parents should notice: She peaked early and then walked away. That is also fine. Her mental-math training transferred to a disciplined mind; not everyone needs to stay in their lane.
Where she is now (2025): Retired from competitive mental math in 2012, moved into theatre and academics. Has worked as a research associate at Stanford and was an ambassador for World Math Day.

Haris Imtiyaz Khan

Artist, charcoal portraits from age 3

Self-taught, started sketching at three, held his first exhibition at seven, set a world record as the youngest live portrait artist at ten. In 2011, Sarah Jessica Parker named him one of the world's eight greatest future artists. Spoke at TED in 2012.

What parents should notice: Visual art is one of the hardest things to convince Indian parents to take seriously. Haris's didn't just tolerate it, they built exhibitions around it.
Where he is now (2025): Working contemporary artist based in Pune, with work on Saatchi Art, Fine Art America, and absolutearts.com.

Carlos Perez Naval

Wildlife photographer — Young WPY at 8

Got his first camera at 4. Took his first prize-winning photograph at 6. At 8, shot Stinger in the Sun (a scorpion backlit by sunlight), which won the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Young) 2014. Spanish, not Indian, included in the original series as part of young achievers from places like us.

What parents should notice: Specialised tools (a proper camera at 4) plus field time (his parents routinely took him outdoors) beat generic enrichment classes.

Shorya Mahanot

Abstract painter — solo exhibition at 4

From Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh. First solo exhibition at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, at age four. Called India's Child Picasso. His paintings have fetched sums in the tens of thousands of dollars at international auctions. Collaborated with Microsoft on digital art work.

What parents should notice: He had a studio space at home from age three. His parents sold their own house to fund his early shows. You may not agree with that level of sacrifice, but the commitment was visible to the child.

Truptraj Pandya

Tabla prodigy — performed on All India Radio at 3

Performed on All India Radio at 3 years and 5 days old, later certified as the youngest tabla performer by Guinness. Awarded the Rashtriya Bal Puraskar by the President of India. Trains under Pandit Nayan Ghosh of the Farukhabad gharana.

What parents should notice: A traditional art form, learned the traditional way, under a real master. This is not dropping the kid into a YouTube tutorial. It is guru-shishya, disciplined and slow.
Where he is now (2025): Over 200 public performances, two TEDx talks, still training.

Kautilya Pandit

Google Boy — extraordinary memory at 5

At five, could recite country capitals, currencies, areas, population figures and geographic details. IQ measured by Kurukshetra University between 130 and 150. A Global Child Prodigy Award in 2020.

What parents should notice: His ability was raw, but his family paired it with exposure, regular quizzes, trips, interviews. Talent alone decays if it is not used.
Where he is now (2025): Graduated Class 12 from GD Goenka School in Gurgaon with 93% in CBSE boards. Qualified for JEE Mains and JEE Advanced, chose Oxford over IIT.

Anshuman Nandi

Music prodigy from Tripura

A young classical music talent, active in regional and national stages as a child performer.

What parents should notice: Not every achiever profile ends with global fame. Regional excellence, carried forward seriously, is also a path. What matters is the discipline of preparing for a live audience again and again.

Chitresh Tatha

Sailor — youngest Indian at an international event of his class

Represented India at an international sailing event at an age younger than anyone from the country had attempted in that class.

What parents should notice: Sport at the elite junior level is almost entirely a family-logistics project. Coaches, equipment, travel, dietician. It is less talent discovery and more sustained operational support.

Aravindh Chithambaram

Chess Grandmaster at 15 (2015)

Became India's 11th Grandmaster in 2015, at age 15. One of the strongest Indian players of his generation.

What parents should notice: Indian chess is the best-documented case in the country of early, serious, coached, competitive practice paying off at scale (Anand → Praggnanandhaa → Gukesh → Aravindh). The ecosystem matters as much as the talent.
Where he is now (2025): Breakout 2025. Won Prague Chess Masters in March with a 2829 performance. Won the Stepan Avagyan Memorial in Armenia in June on tiebreaks over Praggnanandhaa. Entered the world top 10 for the first time, finished 2nd in the 2025 FIDE Circuit standings mid-year.

Pari Sinha

Chess — state debut at an unusually young age

Made her state-level debut earlier than most children her age.

What parents should notice: You do not have to be a Grandmaster for the early exposure to matter. State-level competition at 6-8 builds the muscle of actually playing under pressure, which is different from practice.

Shalini Kumari

Inventor of an assistive device

Inspired by her grandfather's pain, she designed an assistive device aimed at reducing physical strain for elderly family members.

What parents should notice: Empathy plus engineering. The best young inventors we found all had a specific person in mind, not a market.

Saugat Bista

Film director at age 7 (Nepali, not Indian)

Directed Love You Baba in 2014 at 7 years and 340 days, making him the Guinness record holder as the youngest director of a professionally made, theatrically released feature film. He is Nepali, not Indian; we include him as a South Asian young achiever and want to be upfront about that.

What parents should notice: You can only direct a film at 7 if an adult ecosystem (producer, cast, crew) agrees to treat you like a director. This is less about the kid and more about the network a supportive parent built around them.

Three Indian teens worth watching in 2025

These are verifiable, current, and on the public record as of writing.

Kanav Talwar, Arav Gupta & Aditya Mangudi

IMO 2025 Gold Medallists

At the 66th International Mathematical Olympiad in 2025, India placed 7th out of 110 countries, its best-ever joint rank, with three gold medals, two silver, and one bronze. The three gold medallists are school students. India's total of 193/252 is the highest score an Indian IMO team has ever posted.

What parents should notice: The pipeline that got them there (HBCSE camps, mentors, older IMO alumni coaching juniors) is publicly accessible and replicable.

Jaiwardhan Tyagi

14-year-old founder, Neurapex AI (Shark Tank India 2025)

At 14, while in school, Jaiwardhan landed on Shark Tank India and secured Rs 60 lakh from boAt's Aman Gupta at a Rs 12 crore valuation for 5% equity in Neurapex AI, an AI-driven platform that helps diagnose skin and neurological conditions by reading MRI scans, lab reports and medical history.

What parents should notice: Before Neurapex, he had already built an AI-powered security camera on the ESP32-CAM chip that detected guns, fire, people and cars in real time, plus content-filtering software he shipped entirely on his own.

Devan Chandrasekharan

Forbes India 30 Under 30 2025, youngest honoree

At 18, Devan became the youngest name on the Forbes India 30 Under 30 2025 list, as founder and managing director of Fuselage Innovations, a drone technology company.

What parents should notice: You do not need a megapitch-deck origin story to be on that list. You need shipped work.

What these 21 teenagers have in common

When you read all of these profiles as a single dataset, a handful of patterns emerge.

They started between ages 5 and 13, not 17

Tenith started inventing at 5. Truptraj performed on radio at 3. Angad was making 3D printers at 13. The Kumaran brothers shipped their first app at 10. The idea that serious work begins after Class 12 is a scheduling convention, not a developmental reality.

They worked on one thing for years

Not exploring their options. Not broad exposure. One specific pursuit, with depth. Aravindh has been playing competitive chess every week of his life since he was a child. Truptraj has been under the same guru for years. Depth compounds in a way that breadth does not.

They had an adult who took the interest seriously before there was any proof

Before Tenith filed a patent, his parents were giving him time and materials. Before Shorya's paintings sold for tens of thousands of dollars, his parents sold their own house to fund early shows. The adult belief comes first, the external validation comes later. Almost never the other way around.

They hit a public milestone early

A UN speech. An exhibition. A patent application. An app in the store. A Guinness attempt. A state-level tournament. Something that forced them to deal with real audiences, real feedback, and real stakes, well before college. Public milestones convert private practice into identity.

They kept going through setbacks, or they walked away cleanly

Priyanshi walked away from mental math at the peak and went into theatre, that is a healthy exit. Angad pivoted from SharkBot (which didn't scale) to Praan (which is scaling). The ones who vanished from the public record aren't failures, they just chose to go private. But the ones still visible in 2025 are the ones who treated early success as a starting line, not a finish line.

Most of them had access, and we should be honest about it

Tech-literate parents. English-speaking households. Supportive schools. Internet and devices at home. The path is replicable, but you also have to give your child the same starting conditions that these achievers had. The good news is that in 2025, those starting conditions are cheaper than they have ever been.

If you're a parent reading this, here's what actually matters

Let's be direct. Your child does not have to be in the next 18 Under 18 list to have a great career, a meaningful life, or a strong college profile. Most of these kids had some combination of luck, timing, and support that isn't fully reproducible. But here is the part that is reproducible, and that most parents miss.

Roughly nine out of ten of these kids had one specific pattern in common. An adult in their life, usually a parent, took their weird, specific interest seriously before it produced any external validation. That's it. The parent didn't wait for trophies. They bought tools. They drove the child to competitions that didn't give certificates. They said "tell me about this" when it would have been easier to say "focus on your studies."

How to use this list, and what's next

When you're ready to add structure to the curiosity you surface, that is where Stride Launchpad fits in. It is our AI-first builders program for school students, built specifically around the idea that the output of a student's time should be real projects and a portfolio, not just attendance and a transcript. Students ship things, get a program certificate, and leave with proof of what they built. The tagline we use is: Every student has marks. Only yours has proof. That is the gap this program is built to close.

If you're not ready for a full program yet, take our free Profile Strength Quiz. It is a 10-minute diagnostic that tells you where your child currently stands on the specific axes that universities, employers, and future collaborators notice. It is a softer starting point than signing up for anything.

Part 2 is coming. We're going to profile 18 more Indian students under 18, with a stronger focus on post-2020 achievers, AI-era builders, and regional talent outside the metro bubble. If you know a student who belongs on the next list, tag Stride Ahead on LinkedIn or email us at hello@strideahead.in. We read every nomination.

The reason we're running this series is simple. The gap between 'my child has marks' and 'my child has proof' is the single biggest parenting question we hear in India in 2025. The kids above are one kind of answer. Yours can be another.