Around a decade ago at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), classmates Sneh Rajkumar Vaswani, Chintan Subhash Raikar, and Prashant Iyengar were involved in a project to build intelligent underwater vehicles for the India Navy and the oil and gas industry. In the process, they developed a knack for artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. That culminated in their setting up of emotix in 2015, and this startup has now developed Miko, India's first companion robot. Miko, weighing around 750 grams and standing a little over a foot, engages, educates, and entertains children above the age of five. Besides talking to and playing games with the kids, Miko is also equipped to answer basic questions related to general knowledge and academics.