Rosetta wins Rep. Ro Khanna’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 17th District.
Rep. Ro Khanna has named Aarush Gupta of Irvington High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 17th District. Their app Rosetta is a personal AI language companion that breaks down language barriers with translation, conversational AI, and language lesson functions.
When asked what inspired the creation of Rosetta, Aarush Gupta said, “Last summer, I watched my grandmother struggle in a Mexican pharmacy. She speaks three languages and taught math for 30 years, but in that moment, hunched over my phone with me, she felt helpless. We spent 20 minutes trying to communicate about blood pressure medication allergies. Google Translate gave us disconnected words that confused everyone more. We ended up pointing and gesturing like we were playing charades. That moment stuck with me. I realized that language barriers don’t just stop communication. They strip away dignity and confidence from people who have so much to offer the world. My grandmother deserved better. Everyone does. I built Rosetta because I believe technology should empower people, not make them feel small. The world is full of incredible places and people, and language should never be the reason someone hesitates to explore it.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.