Hi, I’m Sourya Kakarla

I’m an AI/ML engineer and founder building magical consumer experiences through ambient intelligence. As Co-founder of Zone, I’m reimagining how messaging platforms can automatically understand context and complete tasks for you, going beyond simple to-do lists to actually getting work done.

With degrees from IIT Kharagpur and Columbia University, and hands-on experience at Microsoft and SkyLink (YC W22), I’ve built strong expertise in LLMs, Speech Recognition, NLP, and agentic AI. I thrive at the intersection of cutting-edge AI and delightful user experiences, creating technology that feels like magic in everyday life.

After leading the AI/ML team at Skylink (YC W22) through June 2025, where we built a slack agent for corporate travel bookings for McKinsey, I’m now focused on bringing ambient agentic experience to consumer messaging :)

You can view my full resume here.

Zone

Zone is an AI-native messaging platform that solves the problem of actionable items getting lost in long chats. Unlike WhatsApp or iMessage, Zone embeds ambient intelligence to proactively handle reminders, take notes, segment lists, schedule meetings, and more understanding context and taking the right actions like a skilled executive assistant would. Messaging reimagined for the AGI era.

Visit us at trymyzone.com

The Journey from Ladduu AI to Zone

We started with Ladduu AI, focused on helping seniors and their families through:

  • Multilingual voice and chat assistants for navigating digital services
  • WhatsApp assistant supporting 8+ Indian languages (reached 5,000+ users)
  • iOS voice assistant for essential services

Through this journey, we discovered something profound: the real value wasn’t just in helping individuals complete tasks, but in enhancing human-to-human communication. This insight led us to pivot to Zone - bringing ambient AI agents to everyone’s messaging experience, where tasks are understood and executed automatically while you focus on what matters: connecting with people.

Research Interests

  • Large Language Models (LLMs) and Agentic AI
  • Multilingual Natural Language Processing
  • Voice Assistants and Speech Recognition
  • Accessibility and Robotics
  • Cryptography & Information Security

I published papers in reputable conferences and journals, focusing on applied NLP and cryptanalysis. My work has been recognized with awards such as the Best Paper at ASONAM 2016 Conference.

Musings

Reading

I used to hate nonfiction till I was like 20.

Fiction

Some of my favourite fiction works:

  • ASOIAF
  • HHGTG
  • Stranger in a Strange land
  • Catch 22
  • Jeffrey Archer (guilty pleasure while growing up)
  • (other cliched stuff)

Non-fiction

Then I went into a “seeking” phase where that’s all I read for a few years.

Especially existential/spiritual/religious/mythological books to make sense of the universe/myself.

Some authors/genres/fields:

  • Herman Hesse
  • Richard Dawkins
  • Yuval Noah Harari
  • Camus
  • Buddhism
    • Old Path, White Clouds
    • Two Truths
  • Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism)
    • Advaita/Non-duality
    • Shaivism/Shaktism
    • Karma, Bhakti, Gnyana, Raja Yogas

Once I got the startup bug, I read a few of the typical startup books:

  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things
  • Zero to One
  • Outliers

Currently Reading

Finished The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch - a mind-expanding exploration of explanations and progress.

Currently reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - diving into the story of building magical consumer products that changed the world.

Jotted down some of my reads in goodreads. TODO: Update it.

Music

My music taste has seasons. Some times I listen to eastern devotional songs like:

  • Shiva Tandava Stotram
  • Aigiri Nandini

In other phases, I listen to western classic/soft rock:

  • Pink Floyd
  • Led Zeppelin

East-West fusion in content and style is probably my favourite genre. Example:

  • Shiva Tandava Stotram by Shanti People

Can’t sing for the life of me but write occassionally. Here’s a song I wrote in Telugu - Listen Now.

Writing

Scribbling down my thoughts into “poems” is a favourite cathartic pastime.

Holy Nature - My favorite among all my amateur work got featured in Poets of Columbia.

Soccer

  • Arsenal fan, ‘Gooner/Gunner’ for life!
  • Receiving Gold Medal through MS Hall in IIT KGP General Championship is a highlight of my soccer life.
  • FIFA is pretty much the only video game I ever played consistantly. Always up for a game if time permits.