Assam Startup Builds AI That Sees Underground

When a critical railway tunnel project between Imphal and Jiribam stalled for years, the problem wasn't above ground. Water was seeping into the tunnel from underground pockets every 15 to 20 meters, and engineers needed to know exactly where to drill.

Reepjyoti Deka, founder of Aorvis Technologies in Assam, had an answer. His company developed Vidarshan, a patented AI software that creates digital twins of underground spaces and detects exactly what's happening beneath the surface.

"Understanding the subsurface is extremely important," Deka says. His technology helped North East Frontier Railway engineers locate the water pockets, pump them out, and stabilize the tunnel with silica. Construction that had been stuck for years finally moved forward.

The journey started when Deka noticed something missing from India's growing deeptech scene. While AI was transforming healthcare and fintech, civil engineering and geophysical sciences had been left behind. Most sensors and analysis software used in Indian infrastructure projects were imported and relied on old, non-AI methods.

Deka decided to build something entirely indigenous. Vidarshan combines AI-assisted interpretation with big-data computation, all developed in India. The software analyzes geophysical data and creates three-dimensional models that show engineers what's happening underground before they start digging.

Like many deeptech startups, Aorvis struggled early on. Getting a proof of concept off the ground required both recognition and funding. The breakthrough came through Assam's startup ecosystem, which provided validation and financial assistance after the company was recognized at Advantage Assam.

"The government has been very supportive," Deka says. "Most things we need are just a phone call away." That access helped Aorvis deliver the railway project successfully and prove their technology worked in real conditions.

The Ripple Effect

Vidarshan's success on the railway tunnel opened doors across the region. Infrastructure projects that once relied on guesswork and imported technology now have an indigenous alternative that's faster and more accurate. The technology is helping engineers avoid costly mistakes before construction even begins.

Aorvis plans to publicly launch Vidarshan this year and expand across Northeast India over the next three to five years. The team aims to pioneer AI applications in mineral exploration and subsurface interpretation, eventually taking the technology beyond India's borders.

For Assam's startup ecosystem, Aorvis represents something bigger than one company's success. It shows that deeptech innovation can emerge from unexpected sectors when founders get the support they need to turn ideas into real-world solutions that solve actual problems.