I · Childhood
The texture of early childhood has shifted — its environments, rhythms, and inputs no longer resemble those of even a generation ago.
The Rising Sun Project
An ongoing inquiry · Est. 2026
The First Six Years
Shape the Next Sixty.
We are building developmental frameworks, milestone intelligence, and measurement systems for the first six years of life — the period in which the architecture of a human being is laid down.
The Rising Sun Project is an inquiry — and a slow, patient body of work — into how the earliest period of human development can be made more visible, measurable, and understandable.
I · Why the first six years
The period of greatest developmental leverage.
In the first six years of life, the architecture of a human being is laid down. Cognitive, emotional, social, and adaptive foundations emerge during a window that does not return.
Support offered early does not simply accelerate development — it shifts the trajectory of an entire life. Small, well-placed interventions in early childhood compound into lifelong differences.
And yet, for most of human history, this window has been observed more than understood. Better understanding of early development leads, directly, to better outcomes. This is the conviction the project is built on.
II · The world has changed
The context of childhood has shifted faster than the systems designed to support it.
II · Technology
Digital systems now mediate attention, language, and play from the earliest months of life, with consequences we are only beginning to understand.
III · Society
The capabilities that future adults will need are evolving rapidly, while the developmental scaffolding around young children has remained largely unchanged.
III · What we are building
A small set of deeply interconnected capabilities.
Five interlocking systems, built slowly, in service of a single question: what does this child need next?
A systems view
I
Developmental Frameworks
Translating decades of scientific research into clear, practical developmental pathways that families and professionals can actually use.
II
Milestone Intelligence
Making developmental progress easier to observe, interpret, and understand in the context of each child's own trajectory.
III
Measurement Systems
Tracking meaningful developmental outcomes over time, with the rigor of science and the sensitivity of human observation.
IV
Decision Support
Helping caregivers and professionals understand what matters next — and why — at each stage of early development.
V
Technology Infrastructure
Making developmental science more accessible at scale, without reducing the child to a dashboard or the parent to a user.
IV · Guiding principles
Science First
Grounded in evidence, open to revision.
Outcomes First
Measured by what changes in a child's life.
Child First
The child is the subject, never the product.
Technology as an Enabler
Quiet, useful, and in service of people.
Long-Term Thinking
Designed for decades, not quarters.
V · Long-term vision
A future where developmental support is proactive rather than reactive — where families have the language and the tools to understand what their children need at each turn.
Where science-backed guidance is no longer reserved for the few who can find it, but quietly available to anyone raising a child.
The work is long. The window for any given child is short. We are building for both.
VI · Founders
I
Prateek Lal Shah
Co-founder · Systems & Product
Product developer and systems thinker with a background in biotechnology and bioinformatics. His work focuses on translating complex scientific and technical challenges into practical, durable systems.
II
Shruti Sharma Shah
Co-founder · Technology & Design
Technology product leader with experience building large-scale, data-driven products. Her work focuses on applying technology and human-centered design to complex real-world problems.
VII · Correspondence
We welcome correspondence.
We welcome thoughtful conversations with researchers, clinicians, educators, technologists, and others interested in the future of early human development.