Kibo kit

Bonny Dave and Akshita Sachdeva are Season 3's most mission-dedicated assistive technology founders. Bonny, a mechanical engineer from Ahmedabad, and Akshita, a computer engineer from Faridabad, founded Trestle Labs in 2017 with a singular mission: breaking down barriers around disability, language, and literacy for India's 2 crore plus visually impaired population. The founding insight was born from a devastating accessibility reality: less than 1% of reading material in India is available in Braille, and converting a 300-page book into an accessible audio format takes up to 6 weeks through conventional methods. Kibo solved this by creating an AI-powered system that converts any document, printed, handwritten, or digital, into spoken audio in real time across 60 plus languages.

Kibo is India's most comprehensively deployed AI-powered assistive reading technology, converting inaccessible printed, handwritten, and digital documents into spoken audio in real time for blind and visually impaired individuals. The technology leads India in Indian language recognition, handwriting recognition, translation accuracy, and real-time text-to-audio conversion. The four-product suite covers every use case: Kibo Mobile App for personal on-the-go access, Kibo Desk for institutional computer-based access, Kibo XS Kit for standalone hardware deployment in libraries and offices, and Kibo 360 Kit for comprehensive institutional digital inclusion. Beyond accessibility for the visually impaired, Kibo 2.0 has evolved into an AI-powered Document Transformation System that converts inaccessible documents into searchable PDFs, summaries, and editable tables in any language, expanding the use case beyond disability into enterprise document management.

Amount Asked: ₹60 lakhs Equity Offered: 1% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹60 crore

Bonny and Akshita opened Season 3 Episode 16 with the most experientially empathetic pitch entry of the season: handing each Shark a written note and asking them to read it without opening their eyes. The Sharks could not. That 10-second exercise communicated the daily reality of 2 crore visually impaired Indians more powerfully than any statistic could. The Kibo product demonstration followed, showing real-time document scanning and audio conversion across languages, printed text, and handwritten notes. The technology's accuracy and speed visibly impressed every Shark on the panel.

Radhika Gupta (guest Shark) was the first to exit, stating she did not believe she could add specific value to an assistive technology company. Anupam Mittal exited believing the business was too small and would face scalability challenges. Aman Gupta was genuinely interested and made competing offers (₹60 lakhs for 4%, then revised to 3%). He explained how he could help with distribution and brand building but was outbid when the founders counter-offered at 1.5% for 3 Sharks combined, a valuation he could not match. Peyush Bansal saw the natural synergy between Lenskart's vision care mission and Kibo's accessibility mission. Ronnie Screwvala (guest Shark) connected deeply with the education accessibility mission.

Peyush and Ronnie offered first: ₹60 lakhs for 10% equity. Aman countered solo: ₹60 lakhs for 4%. Peyush and Ronnie explained their strategic value (Lenskart distribution plus upGrad education access). Aman revised to ₹60 lakhs for 3%. The founders countered: ₹60 lakhs for 1.5% across 3 Sharks. Aman could not match and opted out. The final deal settled at ₹60 lakhs for 6% equity with Peyush and Ronnie, a significant markup from the founders' 1% ask but a substantial improvement from the initial 10% opening.

Bonny Dave and Akshita Sachdeva accepted Peyush Bansal and Ronnie Screwvala's joint offer of ₹60 lakhs for 6% equity at ₹10 crore valuation. The founders chose this pair over Aman's competing 3% offer because Peyush's Lenskart vision care ecosystem and Ronnie's upGrad education technology platform created the most strategically aligned combination for an assistive technology company targeting institutional deployment in schools, colleges, libraries, and offices.

"Shark Tank India Season 3 has been a great boost to Kibo by Trestle Labs' growth and brand visibility. We are sure to bring Kibo to thousands of schools, colleges and offices in India and beyond, and make them digitally inclusive." Kibo continues expanding its global footprint post-Shark Tank. The brand represented India at the Zero Project Conference 2024 in Vienna, Austria (an international platform for inclusive education), demonstrating Kibo's technology on a global stage within days of the Shark Tank episode airing. Our research into the company revealed that while Kibo by Trestle Labs did secure a deal on Shark Tank India, whether their deal has gone through yet is still not fully clear. The projected ₹5 crore revenue at 30% net profit margin positions Kibo as one of Season 3's most profitable social impact companies. The institutional B2B model (600 plus institutions paying subscription or one-time fees) provides the revenue predictability and scaling efficiency that consumer B2C products in the assistive technology category cannot achieve.