Annie: Self-Learning Braille Literacy Device Scaling Across India and Beyond

Thinkerbell Labs (founded 2016) built Annie, a tactile braille-literacy device paired with vernacular audio instruction and real-time feedback, addressing the shortage of trained special educators for blind and visually impaired children.

By the most recent reporting (MIT Solve, 2026), Annie serves approximately 10,000 users across more than 300 schools, nonprofits and hospitals in India, all 50 US states and six other countries, up from an earlier reported base of 500+ devices across 16 Indian states; the device costs approximately US$1,000 versus US$5,000-15,000 for legacy braille readers.

As with most self-reported edtech reach figures, deployment and usage numbers come from the company and its partners rather than an independent randomised evaluation; a third-party outcomes study was not located at the time of writing.