The Government of Maharashtra, OpenAI and Rocket Learning have announced the launch of ‘Shiksha Saathi’, an AI-powered assistant for early childhood education, at the AI Summit 2026.

The initiative was unveiled by Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer at OpenAI; and Azeez Gupta, Co-founder of Rocket Learning. The organisations have signed an agreement to roll out Shiksha Saathi across Maharashtra, making it the first state to implement an AI-enabled tool for Anganwadi educators at scale.

Developed by Rocket Learning in collaboration with OpenAI, Shiksha Saathi is a multilingual, WhatsApp-based AI assistant designed to support Anganwadi educators and parents. It provides guidance on developmental milestones, early learning practices, national curriculum-aligned approaches and strategies to foster positive learning environments for children below the age of six.

The tool offers personalised responses to queries on early childhood development and primary education. Its content is aligned with the Aadharshila curriculum and can be adapted into regional languages. It also supports educators with practical activities that can be conducted at Anganwadi centres.

Siddhant Sachdeva, Co-founder of Rocket Learning, said the initiative reflects the organisation’s view that AI can expand access to educational guidance. He said the partnership aims to support parents, teachers and communities and contribute to universal school readiness by 2030.

Rocket Learning works with more than 400,000 Anganwadi educators across over 200 districts. In partnership with the Government of India, it seeks to strengthen early childhood care and education systems and aims to reach 50 million underserved children by 2030.

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