Born in India to A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel and Ponnamma Abraham. His upbringing in a family rooted in education and theology shaped his social and intellectual curiosity.
Completed studies at Clarence High School, Bangalore.
Established Students for Peace, organising a large candlelight demonstration on M. G. Road to promote communal harmony and non-violence.
Graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, University of Bangalore, Karnataka.
Worked with the NGO Samuha on low-cost, open technologies for rural communication and coordination.
Co-founded Mahiti, a social enterprise offering affordable digital tools for civil society. Served as Director (1998–2004).
Awarded an Ashoka Fellowship for early work in open technology and civic participation.
Married Esmeralda Davis at Wesley English Church, Bangalore.
Served with UNDP's APDIP programme to promote FOSS, open standards and open content across the Asia–Pacific region.
Co-founded CIS in Bangalore and served as Executive Director (May 2008 – November 2019), building a research centre focused on openness, accessibility and digital governance.
Participated in IGF 2011, contributing to international dialogues on openness, privacy and governance.
Joined ArtEZ, Arnhem (Netherlands) as an endowed professor (lector), developing research and teaching at the intersection of art, design and public policy.
Concluded role as Executive Director at CIS and refocused on academic and advisory work.
Leads policy work on the data economy and emerging technologies for Meta India.
Received the Ashoka Fellowship (1999) and the Sarai FLOSS Fellowship (2003), among other recognitions.
Resides in Gurgaon, India. Balances professional commitments with personal interests in art, education and open knowledge.
Remains active in research, writing and advisory work on digital rights and governance across the Global South.