When I sat down with Midhula Devabhaktuni and Vishwanadh Kandula, co-founders of Mivi in Delhi, I expected a product pitch. What I got instead was a glimpse into something much deeper- a vision for how AI could feel less like a tool and more like a companion.
The duo, co-founders of consumer electronics brand Mivi, were in the capital to introduce Mivi AI, a platform their Hyderabad-based team has been building quietly but ambitiously for over 18 months.
“It’s not about creating an AI that knows everything,” Midhula said early in our discussion. “It’s about creating one that knows you.”
Mivi AI doesn’t behave like the assistants we’re used to. When you ask it how to make chicken dum biryani, you don’t get a flat list of ingredients. Instead, a chef avatar responds conversationally, checks if you have the ingredients, and waits while you prepare each step.
“It behaves like a real person would,” Midhula explained. “It waits. It adjusts. It even remembers how spicy you like your food based on past chats.”
The AI can fluidly switch avatars from chef to therapist, wellness coach to news anchor, depending on your needs. And it doesn’t forget. “You could come back a day later,” said Vishwanadh, “and it’ll pick up from where you left off.”
What makes Mivi AI especially noteworthy is its origin story. Every layer of the platform, from wake-word detection to neural network training to the interaction design, was built in-house by Mivi’s engineering and product teams in Hyderabad.
“We built a custom chipset that can detect ‘Hi Mivi’ across different Indian accents,” Vishwanadh shared. “We had voice samples collected from all over India, including Assam, to make sure it understands everyone.”
Their 1,500-person team – 80% of whom are women – is now gearing up to move into a 2 lakh sq. ft. facility, India’s largest audio manufacturing unit. “This isn’t just about hardware,” Midhula emphasised. “It’s about building end-to-end capability. From firmware to AI, it’s all ours.”
Midhula was clear on one point: Mivi AI is not a voice assistant like Siri or Alexa.
“Those are task bots,” she said. “They follow orders. Mivi AI builds relationships.”
Vishwanadh added, “This AI understands context. Ask it to plan a trip to Japan, and two weeks later, when you say your child needs a new activity, it may suggest Japanese classes. It connects the dots – just like people do.”
At the heart of Mivi AI are its avatars. These are modular roles like chef, therapist, tutor, and nutritionist that are powered by the same AI brain, but customised to serve different aspects of your life.
“The therapist avatar doesn’t just give advice,” Midhula explained. “It understands emotional patterns. You can talk freely without fear of judgement, and it will remember what you’ve shared.”
And in the nutrition space, it’s not about counting calories. “If you had a muffin in the morning, the AI might suggest dal soup for lunch to manage your insulin spike,” she said. “It’s how a real nutritionist would think.”
The co-founders admitted they faced scepticism when they first reached out to media outlets.
“Some said, ‘It’s not possible an Indian company could do this,’” Midhula recalled. “One even suggested we launch it in the US first to be taken seriously.”
Instead, they stayed rooted. “We were very clear—we’re building this for India, from India. And we want to launch it here first,” she said firmly.
Moving forward, Mivi plans to integrate Mivi AI across its consumer ecosystem, including speakers, cameras, and smartwatches.
“We’re aiming for five million users in the first year,” Vishwanadh said. “And we’re ready. The product is done. Now it’s time for people to try it.”
And as for us, we’re eager to get hands-on. A full review is in the pipeline, where we’ll be putting Mivi AI’s real-world performance, personalisation, and conversational depth to the test.
But more than metrics, the goal is resonance.
“This isn’t a piece of tech,” Midhula told me as we wrapped up. “It’s something you can talk to anytime, anywhere. A friend. A coach. A confidant. That’s the future we believe in.”