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What began as a shared passion for gaming and technology in a small Assam town
has
evolved into a platform that could help independent game developers across India find their
audience — and the two friends behind it are only getting started.
In the quiet town of Kokrajhar, nestled in the foothills
of Assam, two childhood friends
spent their early years doing what many teenagers do — playing games, tinkering
with computers, and dreaming about what they might build one day. What sets Jigmi
Brahma and
Prasanta Ray apart is that
they never stopped building.
The two friends, now aged 16 and 18 respectively, have
channeled their shared passion for gaming and technology into something far
bigger than themselves. Fathm Private Limited, the gaming infrastructure platform they co-founded in 2026,
is their answer to a problem they observed firsthand: independent game
developers in India struggling to find visibility, validation, and a pathway to
publication.
For Brahma, who serves as the company's Chief Executive
Officer, the journey began long before Fathm
was a registered entity. A
self-taught developer with a deep curiosity for how things
work, he built his first gaming platform — Pixly — at the age of 11. The experience taught him
something that would later shape the philosophy behind Fathm: building
something is only half the battle; knowing whether anyone actually wants it is
the other, often more difficult, half.
"I remember putting
so much time into projects
and having no real way of knowing
if anyone would ever play
them," Brahma reflected. "That feeling of building in the dark —
that's what we're trying to solve for other developers. Fathm is about giving
creators a clear signal before they invest everything into a project."
Ray, the company's Chief Technology Officer, brings a
complementary skillset to the venture. At just 18, he has already accumulated over seven years
of experience in server administration, cloud infrastructure, and
full-stack development. A student at the Central Institute of
Technology in Kokrajhar, where he is pursuing a Diploma in Computer Science and
Engineering, Ray also founded
CodelithLabs, an open-source software organization, in 2025. His technical
expertise — spanning Linux, DevOps, and AI infrastructure — forms the backbone
of the platform they are building together.
What makes the Fathm story particularly compelling is its
geography. Kokrajhar, a town of approximately 40,000 people, is not typically
associated with tech entrepreneurship. The startup ecosystem in India has
historically been concentrated in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad,
with founders from the Northeast often remaining invisible to investors and
media alike. Brahma and Ray are part
of a quiet shift — a growing number of young entrepreneurs from the region who
are building without waiting for permission or recognition.
"We grew up here, and we never felt like we had to
leave to build something meaningful," Brahma said. "The infrastructure is there, the internet is there, the ambition is there. People just need to
know it's possible."
Fathm's platform is designed to address a specific pain
point in the gaming industry: the gap between development and discovery.
Independent game developers — often working alone or in small teams — bring
their game concepts to the platform, where players engage with them through structured game jams and feedback
sessions. The platform collects player responses, identifies strengths and
areas for improvement, and provides developers with the data they need to refine their games before committing to
full-scale production.
For Ray, the technical challenge
of building such a platform
is what drew him to the project.
"It's not just about making something that works — it's about
making something that scales and serves real people," he said. "We're
building infrastructure that can support developers across India, and that
requires a level of care and precision that I've been working toward for
years."
The timing of Fathm's launch in 2026 coincides with a
period of rapid growth in India's gaming sector. Industry reports indicate
that millions of new users are entering
the gaming ecosystem each year, and the number of
independent developers is growing alongside them. Yet, for all that expansion,
the tools available to indie creators remain limited — particularly when it
comes to validation and feedback. Fathm aims to fill that gap, offering a
structured pathway from concept to publication that has traditionally been
available only to well-funded studios.
As the platform continues to develop, Brahma and Ray
remain focused on their core mission: helping developers build games that
players actually want. They are also building something else — proof that founders from Northeast India can create
meaningful technology ventures without relocating to the country's traditional
startup hubs.
The founders' journey — from childhood friends playing
games in Kokrajhar to co-founders of a gaming infrastructure company — is still
in its early chapters. But for Brahma and Ray, the destination is clear.
Further information about Fathm and its platform is available at fathm.net, and updates on the company's progress can be followed
on LinkedIn and X.
"We started this because we saw something missing," Brahma said.
"And we want every developer in India to know — we're building this for
you, wherever you are."
Fathm Private
Limited is a gaming infrastructure company based in Kokrajhar, Assam, founded
in 2026 by Jigmi Brahma and Prasanta
Ray. The platform helps independent game developers validate their game
concepts through structured player feedback, game jams, and publishing support.
For more information, visit fathm.net.
Follow Fathm on LinkedIn
and X for updates on their journey.