After high-profile derailments, this founder turned his engineering skills toward improving rail safety

After two deadly train crashes made headlines in 2023, Tejas Agarwal was inspired to create rail infrastructure technology, but was unsure how to turn the idea into a startup.

While Agarwal always had an interest in starting his own company, he faced unique challenges as an immigrant in the United States. But the East Palestine, Ohio, and Odisha, India, train accidents spurred his idea into action. In 2023, Agarwal founded Sahay AI, a robotics company that uses an AI-based system to inspect railroad infrastructure.

Then, last October, Agarwal’s advisor sent him an application for Unshackled Ventures, a VC firm that specializes in supporting immigrant entrepreneurs. He applied and got $150,000 in funding, pushing him to pursue Sahay AI full-time, and a few months later, it landed on Technical.ly’s 2025 RealLIST Startups list. 

Originally from India, Agarwal completed his undergraduate degree in electrical and electronics engineering. However, his main interest at the time was in aerial design and engineering, which he pursued as an extracurricular.

As he continued his work in robotics, his specific interest in drones emerged. He used to watch online lectures from Vijay Kumar, the current dean of Penn Engineering, and decided he wanted to go to the University of Pennsylvania to study drones. 

He moved to Philly in 2021 to complete his master’s degree, where one of his professors sparked his interest in self-driving cars. He got involved with the Autoware Foundation based out of Pennovation and started working there after graduating in 2023, eventually building up the skills to branch out on his own. 

In this edition of Technical.ly’s How I Got Here series, Agarwal discusses the current events that led to founding Sahay AI, why robotics seemed cooler than software and how his immigrant experience helped him found a company. 

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you become interested in robotics? 

In undergrad, I got the opportunity to work with this club at my university called Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAVs), where we started designing reconnaissance UAVs and inspection drones. 

That’s basically where my first interest in robotics started. We won global competitions all around the world, even in the US.

That made it clear to me that I wanted to do something in the technology space on the robotics side. I felt like software was great, but through robotics, I could actually change something in the world. It feels more gratifying — and it looked cool, honestly.

“Software was great, but through robotics, I could actually change something in the world.”

Sahay AI founder Tejas Agarwal

What led you to start your company? 

I knew I wanted to start a company because I felt like I couldn’t do anything else. I wanted to do everything, the tech, the sales, the team building. I wanted to use all of my skills that I learned over the years. 

There were a couple of things that happened that pushed me into the idea for Sahay AI. The first one was a rail accident that happened in February 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. Norfolk Southern, a freight train, got derailed due to faulty equipment on their side. 

In June of 2023, there was another train accident in India where three trains collided and 300 people ended up dying. I was curious about what’s going on. 

I found out that the rail industry was very archaic. People were still walking on the track to do inspections. 

Now, this would be okay if the trains were not in operation, but because the trains are continuously in operation, and there are only specific intervals where these guys can actually go. I realized there might be a problem of just data abstraction, or people are not getting to see what they’re supposed to see. 

How has being an immigrant impacted your entrepreneurship experience? 

The pros are that you come from the perspective of two different countries. You have those cultural learnings from when you were growing up, and now you have to adjust to a completely different cultural setting. You have to learn a bit of the lingo. 

In terms of cons, the visa issues are a thing. I think that’s a common stress that immigrants have to face. Even if you’re on a job here, it’s a big issue. 

It’s good to just keep on working and concentrate on what you’re here to do. Unshackled Ventures has really been awesome on that front. They’ve taken care of all of the responsibility for the visas so that I can focus on the business. 

What lessons have you learned from starting Sahay AI? 

There’s a big learning curve, especially coming from an engineering background; there’s so much to learn. There is sales, there is business development, there is hiring, there’s team management. It’s not just tech.

The biggest one is to keep learning. One thing I’ve felt is that the more I learn, the more I know about my own sector, the better I am in conversations and the better knowledge I can give to my teammates to grow the company better. 

Learn everything that you can about running a company. If you want somebody to do something for you, you need to have that bit of knowledge to actually hold a conversation, ask good questions and make sure they’re doing everything right. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a company? 

Research, learn and do not hold back. In school, I felt that web development was not my cup of tea, and I would never need to do it. Actually, I’ve designed five websites since then. 

Play around with stuff, talk to as many people as you can, because people are the biggest sources of knowledge, and there’s no better way you grow in life than talking to people. 

One thing that I tell myself every day is, nobody knows what they’re doing, so don’t put yourself down. You can do it.