A 17-year-old Mississauga student has been named one of the top 10 finalists for the prestigious $100,000 Chegg.org Global Student Prize, which honours young innovators tackling global challenges.
Krishiv Thakuria, a first-generation Indian-Canadian and student at The Woodlands Secondary School, is the only Canadian among nearly 11,000 applicants from 148 countries to make the shortlist.
Thakuria is recognized for pioneering AI-powered education tools already used in more than 20 countries. At just 14, he launched Aceflow, an affordable AI tutoring platform priced at $4.99 per month compared to the $100 average for private tutoring. He later created Charm Bears, AI-powered talking teddy bears designed to help younger children learn without relying on screens.
“The goal is to build an experience that can replicate the same positive effects private tutoring offers, but at a much more affordable price,” Thakuria explained.
He said Charm Bears were developed in response to concerns about children being overexposed to screen-based technology. The teddy bears engage children in conversations, encouraging curiosity and cognitive growth without the overload of text-heavy AI tools.
If selected as the winner next month, Thakuria plans to donate $10,000 to cancer research in memory of his late principal, Omar Zia, while also funding the multilingual rollout and clinical validation of Charm Bears.
Beyond the competition, Thakuria intends to pursue higher education that combines STEM with the humanities, aiming to use technology responsibly to reduce educational inequality. “Prize or not, I want to continue building systems that use AI responsibly to increase educational outcomes,” he said.
The Chegg.org Global Student Prize is awarded annually by Chegg’s impact, advocacy, and research arm, spotlighting student leaders driving positive change worldwide.