79: How Kanjo is Using AI & Data to Transform Children’s Mental Health? with Deepthi Uppala
Wed Jan 07 2026
On this episode, Vinay chats with Kanjo Health CTO and serial product builder Deepthi Uppala, whose journey goes from coding on C puzzles in India to shipping patented AI features at Microsoft and now transforming children’s mental health care.
Deepthi shares how growing up with a mainframe engineer dad shaped her love of logic, why leaving Big Tech to build startups was both terrifying and necessary, and how Kanjo’s platform is redefining ADHD and autism support for families.
Origin story & career pivots
How a childhood of “logic puzzles on the back of a scooter” led Deepthi into computer science and research.
Why leaving a decade-long career and patents at Microsoft to build startups felt both risky and necessary.
Research to real-world impact:
How Intel and Microsoft Research taught her to turn ideas into products used at scale.
The difference between building products and building companies, and what she only learned by founding her own.
Inside Kanjo:
What the Kanjo journey looks like for a parent who just knows “something is different” but has no idea where to start.
How Kanjo matches families with the right clinicians and builds an interdisciplinary care plan instead of stopping at diagnosis.
AI, diagnostics & whole-child care:
How Kanjo combines 45+ validated questionnaires with risk factors and comorbidities to go beyond symptom-only assessments.
Why Deepthi believes diagnosis is “step zero.”
Scaling impact & measuring what matters:
The tension between clinical nuance, limited clinician supply, and the need to support by using AI.
Why, at this stage, revenue and parent satisfaction scores are the two metrics Deepthi obsesses over to know Kanjo is on the right path.
Guest: Deepthi Uppala
Website: www.mykanjo.com
Host: Dr Vinay Shankar
Podcast: 15 Minutes With The Doctor
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On this episode, Vinay chats with Kanjo Health CTO and serial product builder Deepthi Uppala, whose journey goes from coding on C puzzles in India to shipping patented AI features at Microsoft and now transforming children’s mental health care. Deepthi shares how growing up with a mainframe engineer dad shaped her love of logic, why leaving Big Tech to build startups was both terrifying and necessary, and how Kanjo’s platform is redefining ADHD and autism support for families. Origin story & career pivots How a childhood of “logic puzzles on the back of a scooter” led Deepthi into computer science and research. Why leaving a decade-long career and patents at Microsoft to build startups felt both risky and necessary. Research to real-world impact: How Intel and Microsoft Research taught her to turn ideas into products used at scale. The difference between building products and building companies, and what she only learned by founding her own. Inside Kanjo: What the Kanjo journey looks like for a parent who just knows “something is different” but has no idea where to start. How Kanjo matches families with the right clinicians and builds an interdisciplinary care plan instead of stopping at diagnosis. AI, diagnostics & whole-child care: How Kanjo combines 45+ validated questionnaires with risk factors and comorbidities to go beyond symptom-only assessments. Why Deepthi believes diagnosis is “step zero.” Scaling impact & measuring what matters: The tension between clinical nuance, limited clinician supply, and the need to support by using AI. Why, at this stage, revenue and parent satisfaction scores are the two metrics Deepthi obsesses over to know Kanjo is on the right path. Guest: Deepthi Uppala Website: www.mykanjo.com Host: Dr Vinay Shankar Podcast: 15 Minutes With The Doctor