Our Leadership
Guided by visionaries, architects, and pioneers shaping the future of AI.
Founders
Founder
Amarnath Reddy Kallam
Amarnath is a visionary AI Architect and multi-cloud expert with over 15 years of experience leading digital transformations for Fortune 500 companies. A recipient of the 2025 Global Recognition Award for Scaling AI Solutions, he specializes in architecting enterprise-grade Generative AI and Large Language Model (LLM) frameworks. His published research focuses on Zero-Shot Clinical Trial Design and self-supervised learning for global health insights. At Pragna, he drives the core technical roadmap, bridging the gap between academic AI research and real-world industrial application.
Co-Founder
Kaali Sudheer
Known professionally as Sudheer Mopperthy, Kaali is a multifaceted entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and strategic investor. With a background as the CEO of Redclays Capital and an independent director at Pharmaids, he brings decades of experience in business scaling and ecosystem building. Beyond technology, he is a prominent figure in the arts and Indian cinema (producing hits like Karthikeya 2). His role at Pragna focuses on strategic partnerships, investment growth, and the cross-pollination of AI with media and green-tech industries.
Advisory Board & Domain Leads
Prof. Uday B. Desai
A titan of Indian academia, Prof. Desai is the Founding Director of IIT Hyderabad and a Professor Emeritus. With over 300 research papers and several books to his credit, he is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). His leadership ensures that Pragna’s research remains at the cutting edge of global standards, specifically in the realms of Wireless Communication, IoT, and AI Governance.
Prof. Mohan Raghavan
An Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at IIT Hyderabad, Prof. Raghavan leads the Department of Heritage Science and Technology. Holding a PhD from IISc Bangalore, his research specializes in computational neuroscience and movement intelligence. He leads Pragna’s Healthcare AI initiatives, applying bio-mimetic AI and computer vision to revolutionize medical diagnostics and human-machine interaction.
Dr. Nagaraj Paturi
Dr. Paturi is the Senior Director (Kulapati) at INDICA and a globally recognized scholar in Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). With over 120 publications, he is a pioneer in integrating traditional Vedic wisdom with modern linguistics and cognitive science. At Pragna, he leads the "Indic AI" vertical, focusing on building culturally nuanced, ethically grounded AI models that respect and utilize India's vast linguistic and philosophical heritage.
M. Srinivas Rao (MSR)
The former CEO of T-Hub, the world's largest innovation campus, MSR is a veteran of the global tech ecosystem with over 35 years of experience and three successful startup exits. He has been instrumental in shaping Hyderabad's status as a global tech hub. He provides Pragna with the strategic mentorship needed to scale deep-tech innovations from the lab to the global marketplace.
Ushashree Sanku
Currently a PhD Researcher at IIT Hyderabad, Ushashree serves as the Innovation and Wellbeing Lead at Pragna. A Wellness Ambassador and Thought Curator, she integrates 20 years of research with a holistic approach to wellbeing—spanning physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions. With an academic background in Computers and Psychology, and as a long-term Ashtanga yoga practitioner, she bridges modern technology with the deep-rooted scientific knowledge of Indic civilization, fostering an interconnected way of living where deep tech and human-centric wellness exist in harmony.