Bio: Bhargav Sri Prakash is a U-M alum and the founder & CEO of FriendsLearn — a life science and health technology startup headquartered in San Francisco, California & with an office in Chennai, India. He is an engineer, designer, inventor and serial entrepreneur, cited often among renowned deeptech pioneers on the world stage. He is the inventor of digital vaccines through neurocognitive computing. The USPTO recently granted him the world’s first Patent for a digital vaccine.

Carnegie Mellon University - the home of Artificial Intelligence - describes his invention as one of the top breakthrough in technology and featured it as the new frontier in disease prevention. He serves as the founding research translation and innovation partner at Carnegie Mellon University and was also on a scientific review advisory board at Stanford University School of Medicine. He holds four US and worldwide patents in advanced simulation technologies, immersive VR/AR/MR and AI technology. Recently, he was Co-chair of the 2021 NASSCOM Product Conclave for Healthcare and serves on the jury and board of mentors of NASSCOM DeepTech initiatives.

Bhargav began his career in entrepreneurship as a graduate student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where he obtained a Masters in Automotive Engineering, specializing in computational fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, fueled by his interest in racing. He has a BE in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy at Anna University. He sold his first company in advanced simulation technologies to General Motors. His second company helped US Universities recruit students through VR and was sold to the University of Michigan. He then co-founded and ran a US based investment fund called Nirmana Investments. In 2011, he was invited to serve as a Fellow of the Kauffman Foundation when he started FriendsLearn, to pursue a vision to improve the health of children globally.