Hi, I’m Sourya Kakarla
I’m an applied AI/ML researcher and founder building intelligent systems that enhance human lives. As Co-founder and CTO of Ladduu AI, I’m reimagining elder care through digital intelligence and robotic assistance.
With degrees from IIT Kharagpur and Columbia University, and hands-on experience at Microsoft, I’ve built strong expertise in Speech Recognition, NLP, and human-centered AI design. I combine academic knowledge with practical skills to create solutions that actually work for people. I thrive at the intersection of theoretical research and practical application, turning algorithms into solutions people can actually use and benefit from in their daily lives.
I’m currently wrapping up my role as Founding ML Engineer at Skylink (YC W22) in May 2025, where I’ve led our ML team developing AI-powered corporate travel solutions. Building agent orchestration and eval systems for a real-world AI product that actually works has been immensely satisfying. Stay tuned for our flagship customer announcement!
You can view my full resume here.
Ladduu AI
At Ladduu AI, we’re building agents and robots to care for senior citizens.
- Created multilingual voice and chat assistants designed specifically for seniors to:
- Navigate the digital world with ease, accomplishing tasks like refilling prescriptions, ordering cabs, groceries, and other essential services
- Maintain meaningful social connections
- While currently in R&D phase, we are also excited to deliver robots for physical assistance soon!
Current products include:
- A WhatsApp assistant supporting 8+ Indian languages that has reached over 3,000 users.
- An iOS voice assistant enabling essential services through natural conversation.
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
Currently (April 2025), I am reading The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch thanks to my wife who bought the book after seeing Naval Ravikant rave about it.
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.