AQAI believes every child has a right to know what they’re breathing. To do this, they're developing a machine learning solution to accurately assess the global children populations’ exposure to high levels of air pollution. They generate global predictions of the PM2.5 concentrations (particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers), to augment accurate but limited air pollution data collected using ground sensors with machine learning predictions. Their geo-visualization engine enables humanitarian organizations, governments, and health insurance providers monitor air pollution accurately and assess the health impact of air pollution on child populations.

During the UNICEF Venture Fund investment period:

The solution is delivered using a geographic visualization engine containing layers showing the child population density, and regions with concentrations above the WHO recommended limits. The proof-of-concept model is complemented by local ground sensors (with current implementation in Lima, Peru).​

During the investment period, the company will enhance the software to continuously ingest open air pollution sensor data, as well as process open geospatial and satellite data to predict global PM2.5 concentrations.

The Team

Christina Last is the CTO of AQAI and is currently earning a Master's in Urban Science at MIT, studying the impact of air pollution exposure through pedestrian modeling. She is both a Fulbright Fellow and a Legatum Fellow, which support her work developing data science tools to measure the impact on climate and air pollution using open geospatial data. She has presented her research to executives at Google, International Governments at COP27, and policy researchers at Harvard. Previously, as a Data Scientist at the UK's Official Institute for AI, she built machine learning algorithms for the Greater London Authority to predict real-time air pollution. Previously at Carnegie Mellon University, Christina developed AI tools alongside former US President Obama's Chief Scientist.  

Prithviraj Pramanik is the CEO of AQAI and is a Ph.D. Candidate and a Fulbright Fellow who has studied cost-effective urban air quality measurement techniques extensively. A serial entrepreneur, he previously co-founded a technology start-up dealing with alternative communication technologies for post-disaster management. This was adjudicated by the Indian government as one of the top ten start-ups in the country that works in the field of disaster management. Mr. Pramanik has worked on one of the dense real-time air quality sensor networks in the US deployed across Chicago.   

The team values diversity which they believe helps them frame their technical challenges with multiple lenses. They are diverse in our backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, but united by a common goal of doing social good with their technical capabilities to improve the quality of lives for future generations. 

Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn 

Email: prithvirajpramanik@yahoo.co.in,  christina.last@outlook.com 

Website: https://aq-ai.github.io/