Teen Builds AI App to Make Lost and Found Faster

A 15-year-old student from Bellevue, Washington, is using artificial intelligence to solve a problem that affects millions of people every year—recovering lost belongings.

Neil Kumar, a freshman at Bellevue High School, created FindIt, an AI-powered mobile app designed to simplify the lost-and-found process. Inspired by his own habit of misplacing items like water bottles and jackets, Kumar developed the platform to help people quickly reconnect with their missing belongings while reducing unnecessary waste.

His innovative idea recently earned recognition after being selected as one of four winners in the City of Bellevue’s Civic Innovation Challenge, a program that supports technology solutions for real-world municipal problems.

As part of the initiative, Bellevue College will pilot the FindIt app to evaluate how well it works for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The trial will assess the app’s usability and determine whether it could eventually be expanded to other organizations.

“I’ve always been interested in how technology can solve our real-world problems,” Kumar said.

The need for a better lost-and-found system is significant. According to statistics cited by Lostings, more than 400 million items are lost and found across the United States every year, with the estimated value of those belongings exceeding $5 billion annually.

Beyond helping people recover valuable possessions, Kumar believes his app can also reduce unnecessary spending and promote sustainability. The app’s slogan, “Buy less, lose even less,” reflects that mission.

Available on iOS, FindIt uses artificial intelligence to streamline both the reporting and searching process. When a school or organization receives a lost item, staff members simply take a photo and upload it to the app. AI then analyzes the image and automatically creates a detailed description, such as “blue water bottle with red sticker and white top.”

If someone loses an item, they only need to type a description into the app. FindIt’s AI searches through uploaded listings and identifies the closest matches, eliminating the need to manually search through traditional lost-and-found boxes.

Kumar says this digital approach is much more convenient than conventional systems, which often require people to return to the location where they believe they misplaced something.

The young entrepreneur spent the past year developing FindIt before submitting it to Bellevue’s Civic Innovation Challenge, where it was selected from 23 applicants.

The three other projects chosen for the program include:

• Certivo, a Seattle-based company offering an AI-powered platform for vendor compliance across procurement and cybersecurity.
• Legislaide, a Denver startup that uses AI to analyze municipal codes, legislative history, and government documents through natural language search.
• Juganu, an Israeli company providing smart lighting technology that monitors real-time curbside activity to improve transportation and public safety.

FindIt’s momentum extends beyond Bellevue. Kumar was also selected for the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge, earning recognition as one of the top 300 junior innovators in the United States this year.

The app is already being used at Odle Middle School in Bellevue, and Kumar hopes to expand it to additional schools in the future. Looking further ahead, he believes FindIt could also benefit airports, workplaces, public transportation systems, and other locations where lost items are common.

Kumar also participates in Sustainability Ambassadors, a program focused on developing student leadership skills. While FindIt is his first major project, he sees it as only the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.

“I like to solve problems using technology and help people using those solutions,” Kumar said.

With artificial intelligence making everyday tasks smarter and more efficient, FindIt demonstrates how a simple idea from a young innovator could improve the lost-and-found experience while reducing waste and helping people recover the belongings that matter most.

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