Karthik Idikuda: "Be honest about what you have achieved and what you are still trying to prove"

Karthik Idikuda is the Founder of Pakkawork, a company building what he calls an action-assurance layer for personal AI agents. He describes himself as a technical founder and product builder focused on AI systems, working where AI, software infrastructure, automation and user experience meet.

The problem Pakkawork addresses is a new one. AI is moving beyond answering questions and starting to act on people's behalf: sending, booking, changing, approving. Pakkawork sits between the agent and the action, checks it against identity, authority, intent, evidence, policy and risk, and then allows it, routes it to a human, or blocks it. Google Workspace is the first provider family it supports.

"AI models are good at interpreting context," he says, "but important authorization decisions should not depend entirely on model output."

What follows is his interview, in his own words.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background.

I'm Karthik Idikuda, a technical founder and product builder focused on AI systems. I enjoy building products at the intersection of AI, software infrastructure, automation, and user experience. Pakkawork is my current venture, where I'm exploring how people can safely delegate real-world actions to AI agents.

What inspired you to start Pakkawork?

AI is moving beyond answering questions and starting to take actions on behalf of people. That creates a new problem: before an AI does something important, how do we know that it understood the user correctly, had the right permission, and was actually authorized to do it? That question led me to build Pakkawork.

What problem does Pakkawork solve for its customers?

Pakkawork is an action-assurance layer for personal AI agents. It checks important AI actions against factors such as identity, authority, intent, evidence, policy, and risk before the action happens. Depending on the situation, the action can be allowed, sent for human review, or blocked. Pakkawork can then verify the outcome after execution.

What challenges did you face during the early stages of the business?

The biggest challenge has been solving a problem that sits between AI, authorization, security, execution, and user experience. AI models are good at interpreting context, but important authorization decisions should not depend entirely on model output. Designing a system that combines AI interpretation with deterministic controls and outcome verification has been one of the hardest parts.

What makes Pakkawork different from other companies in the industry?

Pakkawork focuses on the individual AI action as the unit of assurance. Instead of only asking whether an AI agent is trusted, the system examines the specific action: who initiated it, what the agent is allowed to do, what the user intended, what evidence supports it, what policies apply, and whether the final outcome matches what was intended.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

My biggest achievement has been turning the idea into a working product foundation and developing the underlying systems needed to control and verify AI actions. Building it independently has also given me a much deeper understanding of AI agents, APIs, authorization, execution systems, and product development.

What lessons have you learned as an entrepreneur?

I've learned that building a product is not only about technology. You have to clearly define the problem, understand what users actually need, avoid solving too many problems at once, and be willing to change your assumptions. I've also learned that shipping and learning from reality is more valuable than spending too much time trying to make an idea perfect on paper.

What are your future goals and vision for the company?

My vision is for Pakkawork to become a trusted assurance layer for AI agents that act on behalf of people. The immediate goal is to prove the product with focused consumer use cases. Over time, I want to build deeper infrastructure around authorization, decision contracts, approvals, outcome verification, and evidence so that autonomous AI can become more accountable and controllable.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Start with a real problem and build something people can actually use. Don't wait until everything is perfect. Talk to users, test your assumptions, ship early, and keep improving. At the same time, be honest about what you have achieved and what you are still trying to prove.

Where can people learn more about Pakkawork and connect with you?

You can learn more about Pakkawork at pakkawork.com. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.

- Website: pakkawork.com - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karthik129259 - GitHub: github.com/karthik-idikuda

This interview is part of our Founder Feature series. To submit a founder for consideration, visit Submit a Story. For more founder stories, see our interviews section.