KL University Alumni Prajwal Kotamraju Featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 for Innovative Traffic Solution

New Delhi: KL Deemed to be University announced that its alumni, Prajwal Kotamraju, who graduated with a B.Tech in Electronics, Communication and Engineering, has been featured in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list (LA). This list celebrates creative, ambitious, and daring leaders who represent the best of the best in their respective fields. He celebrated this feat as co-founder of an innovative platform named ‘Automotus’, an automated curb management platform with its base in the USA.

After graduating from KL Deemed to be University, Prajwal pursued an MS in Signal Processing from Arizona State University. As a dynamic leader specializing in cutting-edge technology, through his venture, he has offered a unique solution to the world's biggest traffic congestion problem. He co-founded Automotus, with Jordan Justus and Harris Lummis. This trio are the innovators who applied technology to create a better life for society.

Dr. G. P. Saradhi Varma, Vice-Chancellor of KL Deemed to be University, expressed his elation at Prajwal Kotamraju's achievement, stating, "We are thrilled to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Prajwal Kotamraju on this significant milestone. His success is a testament to the university's vision of nurturing our alumni, equipping them with the right exposure, and preparing them for better future. We take immense pride in seeing our alumni, like Prajwal, applying their skills and knowledge they acquired at our university to create innovative solutions that benefit society. This milestone reminds me of another alumnus, Kiran Palla, from the 1988-92 batch of Mechanical Engineering, who was recently awarded as a 2023 Forbes Inaugural Member Leader in recognition of his efforts in building value and engagement in the Forbes Technology Council (FTC) community. We are hopeful that our alumni will continue to contribute to societal innovation, technology, and solutions for the betterment of the world."

Prajwal is happy as a co-founder of Automotus and credits his father, Dr. K. Subbarao, Registrar of KL Deemed to be University, as a constant source of inspiration. He expresses his gratitude to the university for fostering an environment that encourages and rewards initiative. He attributes his self-discovery and career path in computer vision to the diverse courses offered by the university, particularly the advanced electives. The project-based study allowed him to gain practical knowledge and experience beyond theoretical concepts.

While at KL Deemed to be University, Prajwal was active in academic research and event organization and graduated with a CGPA of 9.8 out of 10. He won several awards, published papers in Signal Processing and Computer Vision fields, and co-authored a thesis on Performance Evaluation of Object Proposal Generators for Salient Object Detection.

He informed that Automotus aims to reduce emissions, congestion, and safety hazards in cities and airports nationwide. The platform allows customers, such as city governments, airports, and fleets, to install Automotus cameras on existing infrastructure like streetlight poles, providing real-time access to curb and traffic activity. The technology can also automatically alert enforcement officers of violations in real-time or send citations directly to vehicle owners. Automotus has already garnered significant attention, securing $12 million in funding from investors like Techstars Ventures. The platform is currently being used by 12 cities and 1,000 fleet operators across the USA.

In the long term, Prajwal wants to enable solutions that help fellow engineers ideate, validate, and deploy AI models quickly. He has identified similar problems in cities and towns of India and wants to build AI-powered solutions that empower millions of people in India to solve everyday problems.