25-Year-Old IIT-BHU Graduate Creates Luna: The World’s First Emotive Voice-to-Voice AI

In a remarkable technological milestone, Sparsh Agrawal, a 25-year-old IIT-BHU alumnus, has unveiled Luna – the world’s first emotive voice-to-voice AI model that can sing, whisper, pause, and respond emotionally like a human being. Developed independently without the support of major tech corporations, Luna aims to position India as a global leader in emotional AI innovation.

Built under Pixa AI, a Jaipur-based startup, Luna processes raw audio input directly to generate emotionally nuanced speech in real time. This approach marks a major leap beyond conventional ai models that rely on converting speech to text and back again, offering a far more natural, human-like interaction.

A Human-Like Voice AI That Feels and Responds

Unlike traditional voice models that focus purely on recognition and response, Luna’s architecture enables real-time emotional communication. It can adjust tone, rhythm, and pitch – even sing – to reflect empathy and expressiveness. The system creates a conversational experience closer to talking with another person than with a machine.

Sharing his motivation, Agrawal said, “Everyone keeps asking, ‘Where is AI in India?’ Today, we’re sharing the answer. Meet Luna.”

Not Backed by Big Tech – A Self-Made Breakthrough

Equally inspiring as the technology itself is Luna’s development journey. Without access to corporate infrastructure or massive funding, Agrawal single-handedly built Luna by leveraging personal loans, GPU rentals, and credit card debt. “I didn’t have a $100 million runway or a fancy research lab,” he explained. “I just had the will to build.”

Despite limited resources, benchmark tests show Luna outperforming leading systems like ElevenLabs and OpenAI’s gpt-4 TTS, achieving 50% lower latency and producing significantly more natural and expressive voice output.

From Vision to Real-World Impact

With backing from investors including Kunal Shah, Nikhil Kamath, and Kunal Kapoor, Pixa AI envisions Luna becoming the emotional “voice layer” across industries such as automotive, wellness, and entertainment. Several consumer AI platforms and gaming companies have already expressed early interest in integrating Luna’s emotional voice interface.

“Luna is built for emotion, not just reaction,” Agrawal emphasized. “Most voice models serve customer support – Luna is designed to make people feel understood.”

Industry leaders and government officials, including Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, have praised Agrawal for his groundbreaking contribution. HCL co-founder Ajai Chowdhry hailed Luna as “an amazing product – India’s first of its kind.”

Building India into an Emotional AI Powerhouse

According to Agrawal, Luna is just the beginning of India’s emotional AI revolution. As the only solo entrepreneur selected from over 15,000 applicants to the WTFund, Agrawal views Luna as proof that innovation doesn’t depend solely on resources but on determination and creativity.

He aims to transform human-machine communication globally with his team – Nitish Kartik, Apoorv Singh, and Pratyush Kumar – and to make India a leader in developing emotionally intelligent AI systems.

“This is evidence that India can build world-class technology through ingenuity, not just funding,” Agrawal affirmed proudly. With Luna, India has taken a major step toward a future where machines not only talk – but truly understand and feel.

(With inputs from PTI)