Kiran Murali

Indian technologist who created a low-cost AI platform to improve healthcare access in rural areas

Kiran Murali (b. 1992) is the founder of MedAI Health, a non-profit tech organization that has revolutionized primary healthcare delivery in underserved regions. His crowning achievement is the development of HealthNet, an AI diagnostic system that operates on basic feature phones - a breakthrough given that 60% of rural Indian households lack smartphones. Deployed in 2018, this system has provided over 8 million free medical consultations through simple SMS interactions.

Murali's innovation lies in the system's offline functionality and multilingual interface supporting 14 Indian languages. The AI engine uses federated learning to improve accuracy without compromising patient privacy, a model now adopted by WHO for global health initiatives. His 2020 study in Nature Digital Medicine demonstrated 92% diagnostic accuracy for common conditions like diabetes and tuberculosis.

Beyond technology, Murali pioneered the 'Health Champions' program training rural women as community health workers. Over 12,000 graduates of his program now serve as critical healthcare links in 340+ villages. His work has reduced preventable maternal deaths by 35% in pilot regions and inspired similar AI systems in Bangladesh and Nepal.