“I didn’t come from an Ivy League school. I didn’t have a powerful network or a VC on speed dial. What I had was an uncomfortable question that no one else was asking, what if AI could truly feel like us?”
The 35 Under 35 recipient, Pratik Padamwar, is the founder and CEO of Ultron AI, and he believes that the future of artificial intelligence lies in human-like connection.
With a degree in computer science from Manipal Institute of Technology, Pratik began his professional journey at Intel Research Labs and later worked as a research scientist at ZF. Along the way, he has published papers on AI perception systems and earned patents in AI and 3D technology.
Today, MetaBrix Labs has risen to become India’s leading generative AI company. The flagship platform, Ultron AI, has become a plug-and-play ecosystem that lets businesses and creators launch hyper-realistic avatars in real time. These avatars talk and listen with emotion and guide users just like a human host.
The vision was to build a platform that does more than chat or synthesise voices. He wanted AI to look and feel alive.
For streamers and content creators, these avatars act as co-hosts that react to chat, translate content live, and highlight key moments even when the creator is offline. Brands and companies can use the same technology to give their digital presence a true voice and personality.
He says that by bringing a face and emotion into every interaction, Ultron AI helps boost watch time interactivity and revenue.
“Ultron AI is more than just a synthetic voice or text. It’s your digital face, brand personality, and AI-powered presence, all rolled into one. A true AI that connects, not just responds.”
Pratik’s work has won him a place among India’s top future leaders and awards for excellence in AI and 3D innovation. He has spoken at global events from Paris to Dubai.
Humanising AI
During his research, Pratik realised that every AI he worked on could see and analyse data, but never truly connect with people. In research labs at Intel and later at ZF, he watched advanced systems make decisions that still lacked the human touch behind every question.
That gap between logic and emotion drove him to ask what seemed impossible at the time. He wondered if AI could do more than think and respond. He wondered,
“Could it feel tone, read intention, and mirror human empathy in real time?”
Leaving behind the corporate world, he founded MetaBrix Labs to democratise 3D and build technology that bridged the emotional divide between humans and machines.
The Competitive Edge
Ultron AI brings digital avatars to life in real time rather than offering static or prerecorded clips. It combines voice, expression, memory, and personality so that each avatar feels genuine. He further adds,
“Unlike fragmented tools that handle either video generation, chatbot conversations, or voice synthesis, Ultron AI is a full-stack platform designed for dynamic, live, AI-powered characters. Our avatars are more than scripted responses, and they listen, feel, and adapt like real co-hosts, digital presenters, or intelligent brand ambassadors.”
The platform was built from the ground up for live use cases. Streamers can count on zero lag when their AI co-host jumps in on chat. Brands can run real-time onboarding sessions without worrying about complex integrations.
One of the USPs is that the users keep full ownership of their AI identity, which means they can customize every detail and use it across channels without restrictions.
Navigating Challenges
Pratik Padamwar built Ultron AI at a time when only a few people believed in it. Many asked about why anyone would use a digital human or doubted it was possible without a massive lab budget. There was skepticism from investors, partners, and even friends.
Explaining the product was difficult because it did not fit into existing categories like chatbot or avatar generator. Potential clients found the concept hard to grasp until they saw working demos.
Hiring talent for the team was another challenge, especially since he needed engineers who shared his long-term vision. At the same time, he single-handedly bootstrapped complex research and development while other players in the market raised billions. Looking back, he says,
“At one point, even losing a co-founder seemed like a huge issue. But it forced me to double down instead of giving up. What kept us going was a relentless belief that AI shouldn’t just talk, it should connect.”
Celebrating Feats
So far, Pratik’s team has won strategic partnerships with India’s largest edtech channel and piloted Ultron AI in enterprise customer support.
The startup has also been recognised as one of India’s most promising AI companies by leading media and industry platforms. It has powered over one million avatar interactions and collected a rich dataset that will fuel future advances in emotion-based AI.
They have even secured multiple funding rounds, including support from MeitY’s SAMRIDH programme and leading angel investors. With a pipeline of over three hundred creators and ongoing enterprise pilots, the company is laying the groundwork for a new era of AI.
The Future of Ultron AI
In terms of the plans ahead, Pratik Padamwar and his team will expand Ultron AI into the streaming and creator economy by turning it into a co-host, an AI assistant, and a monetisable avatar that reacts and adapts in real time. They will bring emotionally aware digital humans into brand support and company onboarding so that organisations can replace one-dimensional chatbots with true conversational agents. In education, they will pilot AI tutors that teach, adapt to learners’ needs, and offer emotional support. And in retail and brand engagement, they will use Ultron AI avatars as the human face of customer interaction.
At the same time, Pratik plans to build the world’s largest emotion-labelled dataset of human-AI interactions. By capturing tone, behaviour, and sentiment at scale, they aim to power the next generation of emotional intelligence in AI.
He also plans to open the platform to developers and creators through a suite of tools, APIs, and plugins. This ecosystem will let any product, game, or service embed hyper-realistic avatars with minimal effort. To support all of this, the plan is to engage global partners and raise capital.
With a head full of dreams and hope, Pratik leaves with one of the crucial takeaways from his life. He signs off saying,
“Entrepreneurship taught me that you don’t need permission to build something world-class. What you need is obsession, clarity, and the courage to stand alone when no one understands your vision.”
