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Two months after its launch, the platform had attracted more than 1,000 users and 20,000 job listings. Navya Tuteja is currently offering it free.
Navya Tuteja is also president of her school’s AI club. (Image: LinkedIn)
A school ban on ChatGPT has not stopped 17-year-old Navya Tuteja from building an AI startup. Instead, the experience has influenced how the high school student uses generative AI — as a tool, rather than a substitute for learning.
Tuteja, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, recently launched Raaha, a free platform designed to help neurodivergent job seekers assess whether a job listing could be a suitable match before applying. Two months after its launch, the platform had attracted more than 1,000 users and 20,000 job listings, according to Fortune.
How Raaha Started
The idea for Raaha was partly inspired by Tuteja’s experience with her mother, who is hard of hearing, and by her observations of job advertisements aimed at neurodivergent candidates.
She noticed that many listings focused heavily on employer requirements but offered little information about what the workplace or day-to-day job experience might actually be like. Raaha analyses job listings across several factors to help applicants assess potential fit before applying.
Tuteja built the platform herself and is currently offering it free. She has said the longer-term business model could involve employers and workforce organisations paying to use the platform or improve their job postings.
Her School Blocks ChatGPT
Tuteja is also president of her school’s AI club. However, the school’s Wi-Fi blocks ChatGPT, Claude and similar generative AI tools.
She told Fortune that the restriction meant she used AI much less during school and had to complete schoolwork and prepare for exams more independently. She does not believe AI itself is necessarily the problem, but thinks students need to learn how to use it properly.
That approach also guides her own use of AI. She uses it for tasks such as drafting emails and organising information, but avoids using it for material she needs to learn for examinations.
Tuteja wrote Raaha’s underlying algorithm herself and used AI mainly for more mechanical aspects of the project, including parts of the website’s design. She has also argued that young founders should be transparent about how they use AI.
Raaha is not her only project. She has also developed Legible, a tool designed to simplify special-education documents such as IEPs and 504 plans for families.
For now, Tuteja plans to attend college, but has said she would consider running Raaha full-time if the startup continues to grow.
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Ask News18Raaha is a free platform created by 17-year-old high school student Navya Tuteja to help neurodivergent job seekers evaluate whether a job listing is a suitable match before applying. The platform analyses job listings across multiple factors to provide better insight into the potential workplace and day-to-day experience.
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September 28, 2026, 12:10 IST
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