When Srikanth K set out to build AIXE Labs and its flagship product Artograph AI, he wasn’t following a startup playbook. He was following a question that had been quietly unsettling him for years: what happens to a person when their stories are no longer heard?

The answer he arrived at became the foundation of one of India’s most thoughtful entries into the AI-for-mental-health space — a platform that uses generative AI to support reminiscence therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), not by replacing clinicians, but by handling the invisible labor that exhausts them.

IndiaTechDesk caught up with Srikanth K, founder of AIXE Labs, for a wide-ranging conversation about building at the intersection of AI, memory, and emotional care.

A Problem Built from Personal Observation

IndiaTechDesk: What personal or professional moment led you to start AIXE Labs, and why did memory and mental health emerge as the problem you wanted to focus on?

Srikanth: The idea didn’t come from a single “aha” moment. It came from a slow realization built over years of watching people struggle silently. I saw close family members age, forget, and emotionally withdraw — not because they wanted to, but because their stories were no longer being heard or recorded.

As AI evolved, I started thinking about whether memories could be meaningfully reconstructed, and whether that reconstruction could be tied to therapies that slow memory loss. At the same time, I noticed therapists were overwhelmed by documentation and systems that treated memory as data rather than as identity.

Memory is where dignity lives. Mental health is where meaning is negotiated. Once I understood that technology could help preserve both without replacing human care, I knew this was the problem I had to work on.

The Advantage of Not Being a Clinician

IndiaTechDesk: You come from operations, telecom, and business strategy. How did that background shape the way you approached building Artograph?

Srikanth: My experience in operations and telecom taught me a crucial lesson: when systems lack empathy for real workflows, they fail the people who rely on them. That’s why I approached Artograph with the same mindset I would use for a mission-critical network—it needs to be reliable, unobtrusive, and supportive, rather than demanding attention.

Coming from a non-clinical background actually gave me an advantage. I listened to clinicians without assuming I knew better, which allowed me to truly understand their needs. My focus was on creating infrastructure that enables clinicians to work smoothly, removing friction rather than adding more technology to their workload.

Why Established Therapies Needed a Technological Partner

IndiaTechDesk: Reminiscence therapy and CBT are well-established. Why did you believe they could be meaningfully supported by AI?

Srikanth: These therapies are effective because they provide a structured framework for understanding human experiences. AI can play a valuable role here—not by taking the therapist’s place, but by managing the behind-the-scenes tasks. It excels at recognizing patterns, documenting sessions, maintaining continuity, and recalling important details over long periods.

By handling these tasks, AI helps therapists focus more on their clients. It allows for a more continuous and reflective therapeutic process, reducing interruptions caused by paperwork. When used thoughtfully, AI can enhance the therapeutic experience for both the therapist and the client.

The Line AI Cannot Cross

IndiaTechDesk: Where do you draw the line between AI assistance and human judgment?

Srikanth: We have a clear guiding principle: AI can make suggestions, but it should never be the one to decide. In Artograph, we treat every output as a draft. Nothing gets saved without the clinician’s review, and we never present anything as the absolute truth without providing context. The therapist is always the final authority.

We designed Artograph to ensure that the AI provides subtle whispers of guidance, while the clinician makes the final call. This principle is fundamental and not up for negotiation.

IndiaTechDesk: How do you ensure that AI-generated visualizations support healing rather than distort lived experiences?

Srikanth: We never let AI create memories. Artograph uses only existing materials, such as session transcripts, client stories, artifacts, or context provided by families. Any visualization we produce reflects reality, rather than reconstructing it.

We view memory in therapy as sacred. Our job is to preserve those memories, not rewrite them. We treat memory as a living narrative that evolves over time, rather than as a static dataset.

Market Readiness and Responsible Scale

IndiaTechDesk: India is your base, but the problem is global. Which markets are most ready for Artograph?

Srikanth: The US, UK, and parts of Europe are most ready because clinicians there are overwhelmed by documentation, insurance requirements, and burnout. They are actively seeking tools that give them time back.

Markets that still lack mental health infrastructure may not yet be ready for this layer of technology, but they will be in time. Artograph is built to scale responsibly, not rush adoption.

Capital That Understands Complexity

IndiaTechDesk: What kinds of investors align with AIXE Labs — and which do you avoid?

Srikanth: We look for investors who respect the complexity of mental health, not those chasing quick AI narratives. We avoid capital that pushes for speed over safety or growth over care. This is not a platform where mistakes are acceptable.

The right investors understand that trust compounds more slowly than revenue, but lasts longer.

IndiaTechDesk: At this stage, what milestones matter most for funding — clinical validation, institutional adoption, or user outcomes?

Srikanth: Clinical validation comes first. Without it, everything else is noise. Institutional adoption follows naturally once clinicians trust the platform. User outcomes are the long-term truth, but they require patience.

We are building a system that will be judged over years, not quarters. We are already doing pilots with existing clinical partners.

The Vision Beyond the Platform

IndiaTechDesk: If Artograph succeeds at scale, how do you hope it changes how society thinks about memory and aging?

Srikanth: I hope we move from seeing memory loss as decline to seeing memory preservation as care. Aging does not have to mean disappearance. Emotional care should not be episodic — it should be continuous, documented, and respected. If Artograph succeeds, memory becomes something we protect, not something we lose.

IndiaTechDesk: Ten years from now, would you rather be known as a breakthrough AI company or one that proved technology can handle human vulnerability responsibly?

Srikanth: Without hesitation, the second.

Many companies will build powerful AI. Very few will prove it can be trusted with human vulnerability. If AIXE Labs is remembered for showing restraint, respect, and responsibility in how technology touches memory and identity, that will matter far more than any technical breakthrough.

Srikanth is the Founder of AIXE Labs and the builder of Artograph AI, a generative AI platform supporting reminiscence therapy and CBT within structured clinical frameworks. AIXE Labs is currently conducting pilots with clinical partners across key markets.

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