Akshay Bardia

$100B DOMESTIC SOFTWARE MARKET – CXO ROUNDTABLE This Tuesday in a rain-soaked Mumbai, we hosted the 2nd roundtable on the Indian Domestic Market Opportunity with India’s top Chief AI Officers, Chief Digital Officers, and founders. Planned as 90 minutes, it stretched into 3 hours of sharp debate on: ► Where the biggest domestic software opportunities lie ► How Indian enterprises can leapfrog to AI-native ► What founders need to do differently to win in India 5 BIG TAKEAWAYS FOR FOUNDERS 1) Attack big, complex India-native problems as your wedge 2) Go narrow + deep—drive growth or compliance outcomes, not just cost savings 3) Voice will be a game-changer for AI adoption in India 4) Build within the enterprise ecosystem, not siloed point solutions 5) Getting a POC is easy; proving value at POC is the real unlock Special thanks to SaaSBoomi Avinash Raghava Neha Arya Kuldeep Dhankar Ashish Tandon Pratik Pal for making this happen, and to Peak XV Partners Akshay Agarwal for hosting us. Grateful to everyone who joined despite the rains. Anup Purohit Kunal Dhingra Rucha Nanavati Rajesh Kannan Nikhil Prasad Ojha Sharad Sanghi Rajiv Srivatsa Nitin Sharma Jasnoor Gill #IndiaSaaS #DomesticMarket #AIadoption #EnterpriseAI #SaaSBoomi #IndiaSoftware #AIinIndia #StartupEcosystem #EnterpriseSoftware #MarketMapMondays

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Natasha Malpani Launches ₹200 Crore Fund to Power India’s AI Startups Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani has launched Boundless Ventures, an early-stage venture fund with a corpus of ₹200 crore, dedicated to supporting homegrown AI-native startups across India. The fund will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in companies innovating across consumer AI, infrastructure, agent tooling, healthcare, logistics, deep tech, and make-in-India hardware. Boundless has already written its first cheques to startups including Superhealth, Armatrix, PierSight, Knot, and two stealth ventures in AI infrastructure and consumer AI. Beyond capital, the fund promises to bring narrative and network support to founders. As Malpani puts it, India today has a once-in-a-generation advantage talent density, digital rails, and ambition to build global AI leaders from day one. At Startup Veda, we’re thrilled to see local capital fueling the AI frontier. This fund signals rising maturity in India’s venture ecosystem—placing conviction behind AI-first founders well before the rest of the world catches on. Join the conversation: Which early-stage AI ventures excite you the most? How powerful is the mix of capital + storytelling for building AI startups? #Startup #AI #VentureCapital #DeepTech #StartupIndia #FounderStories

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✨ 2 years ago today, I quit my corporate job at McKinsey to try my hand at entrepreneurship. Since then, a lot has happened — some good, some not so good — but every bit of it has been worth learning from. I started my first company in interior design. We went post-revenue, even received a term sheet from AJVC. But we soon realized we lacked founder-market fit. Civil work and operations felt like being a fish out of water. We decided to shut it down (big thanks to Aviral Bhatnagar for his mentorship and support!) and start fresh. My second start-up, Livo, is a financial assistant to help people achieve their money goals. Still early days, but this time we’re working in a space we truly understand. Over these two years, here are my 10 biggest learnings: 1️⃣ Ask for what you want — you’ll be surprised how often you get it. 2️⃣ Most people are rooting for you, assume good intent. 3️⃣ Startups are a tough way to earn money. Save before you quit. 4️⃣ Supportive family makes all the difference. 5️⃣ Doing your own thing makes you love Mondays. 6️⃣ Fear fades the more you face it. 7️⃣ Don’t hire without funding. Short-term contracts are safer early on. 8️⃣ Execution > ideas. Always. 9️⃣ Go the extra mile. 🔟 Be okay with failing. Startups have high highs and low lows — you need to get comfortable with both. Excited for the journey ahead 🚀

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🎯 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 – 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 Grateful to News18 India Gujarati for featuring my insights on India’s evolving startup ecosystem during the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference at #Mehsana. The event marked a milestone with MoUs worth ₹11,652 crore signed, major discussions on semiconductors, green energy, and women-led startups, and participation from #Japan, #SouthKorea, and #Vietnam. As a Startup Mentor, it’s inspiring to witness how India is shaping a powerful, self-sustaining startup ecosystem; where every stage, from ideation to incubation, prototype to product, research to revenue, is being strengthened by coordinated efforts of the Government, investors, academia, and industry. With more than 1.25 lakh DPIIT-recognized startups, over 110 unicorns, and initiatives such as Startup India #SeedFund, Fund of Funds, and the Gujarat Startup Policy 2024, India is no longer a follower in innovation ; it’s setting global benchmarks. Co-working spaces, incubation centers, university collaborations, and strong digital infrastructure are ensuring that ideas from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities find wings; not walls. The collective push from platforms like i-Hub Gujarat, GIFT City , Gujarat Technological University (GTU), Vadodara Startup Studio - Parul University, iCreate, Antrapreneur The Business Incubator, Bharat Accelerator, AMSIM Mehsana and many more are creating founders who are solving real-world problems with scale, purpose, and resilience. India’s startup movement isn’t just about funding; it’s about founders with foresight and a nation that now believes in its own innovation. i47 Global Venture Specialists Panchal S K and Associates Startup India Vibrant Gujarat Ganpat University Amrit Mehsana Startup & Innovation Mission M Nagarajan Dr. Mahendra Sharma #mehsana #vibrantgujarat #incubators #incubation #prototype #funding #marketingtips #productdevelopment #pricing #unicorn #employmentgeneration #innovation #startupecosystem #textiles #diamond #heritage #msme

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Most poeple don’t get Boba Bhai right. But, as an investor via Titan Capital Winners Fund, I’ve had the fortune to see this story play out very closely. It is not just winning the bubble tea market in India - It is creating it. - Before their explosive entry, the category was a fragmented, niche curiosity-a handful of scattered outlets with no cohesive market identity - And Boba Bhai’s strategic execution is a live case study in transforming a fringe trend into a dominant, mainstream consumer category Their first move was to define the product for the Indian masses. By fusing Korean formats with Indian flavours, they created an accessible, craveable version of bubble tea and street food that could achieve broad appeal, moving it out of the niche corners of K-culture enthusiasts. Next, they built the physical infrastructure for the category at an unprecedented speed. Scaling to over 70 outlets, they are single-handedly putting bubble tea on the map in cities across the country, building the distribution network that is making the drink a household name. But their most visionary move in category creation is happening right now, in the digital aisle. The launch of Ready-to-Drink (RTD) canned bubble tea on quick commerce platforms like Blinkit and Zepto is another big bet. Effectively, they are not just entering a new channel - they are creating an entirely new FMCG category from scratch - packaged bubble tea. This allows them to own the "at-home" occasion, building brand salience far beyond their physical footprint. And this is very inspiring, because this is how categories are built. A single brand becomes so dominant in the consumer's mind that it becomes synonymous with the product itself. Think Xerox for photocopying or Maggi for instant noodles. With a stated goal to make K-Pop culture mainstream in India across food, drink and more, Boba Bhai, and its amazing founder, my friend Dhruv (in pic), are not shy about their ambitions. - And having read this whole thing, I am sure you would now get that they are not aiming to be a player in the bubble tea space - They are building the entire stadium and positioning themselves as the home team And that’s why I always say with pride and confidence, that Boba Bhai isn't just another QSR. What do you think? ---- I've begun to share my learnings from the world of startups more frequently to gain wider perspective. Thus, if you hold any additions or differences to the thoughts I shared above, do share in the comments. That will help widen my thinking horizons. Thanks! Best, Shiv

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#Update Petpooja, a cloud-based SaaS platform for restaurants, has secured ₹137 crore (approximately $15.5 million) in Series C funding. The funding round was led by Dharana Capital , with participation from Ashish Gupta (co-founder of Helion Ventures) and the founders of Urban Company (Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra ), as well as Urban Company's Chief Business Officer, Mukund Kulashekaran . This funding round, a mix of primary and secondary capital, marks Petpooja's first capital raise in four years and represents a significant step in its growth strategy. Key Details of the Funding ➡Total Funding: Petpooja has now raised a total of approximately ₹185 crore ($28.4 million) across multiple rounds. ➡Valuation: The latest funding values Petpooja at approximately ₹910 crore ($103 million), which is a 3.5 times increase compared to its previous round. ➡Financial Performance: In the fiscal year 2024, Petpooja's revenue increased by 43% to ₹76 crore, and its losses narrowed to ₹13.4 crore. Future Plans ➳The fresh capital will be used to expand Petpooja's product portfolio, accelerate AI-driven automation, and strengthen customer support operations. ➳Petpooja aims to digitize 1.5 lakh outlets over the next two years, expand its presence in the Middle East and Africa, and enhance bulk procurement features for F&B SMEs. Market Context ➤Petpooja currently serves over 100,000 clients across India, the UAE, and South Africa. ➤It manages approximately 25% of online order volumes on Zomato and Swiggy. ➤The company processes over 7 million orders daily. 👉Follow TU.RATHISH MENON, Franchise and Business Coach, for the best franchise opportunities and the latest insights on franchise, business, and the people shaping tomorrow’s Business World.👍 #Petpooja #SeriesCFunding #AIInnovation #FoodTech #RestaurantTech #StartupEcosystem #FundingNews #GrowthStory #AIinHospitality #TechForRestaurants #FranchiseIndia #StartupIndia #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #VentureCapital

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BlueStone’s IPO on 19th August 2025 marked the culmination of 14 years of resilience. The issue was oversubscribed 2.7x, raising ~₹1,540 crore. At listing, BlueStone commanded a valuation well north of $1 billion — a remarkable leap from ~$300M just a year prior. But the story began back in 2011, with a vision many considered radical. Jewellery, at the time, was untouched by the internet. And Gaurav Singh Kushwaha was an unlikely jewellery entrepreneur, a technologist with no background or networks in the industry. What many saw as a disadvantage turned out to be his greatest strength. The market then was dominated by legacy players: 1. Heavy offline distribution 2. Large inventory-led models 3. A traditional view of jewellery as heirlooms, not fashion Technology, design thinking, and consumer-first approaches had barely touched the space. Free from industry baggage, Gaurav reimagined the market with first-principles thinking: 1. What will it take for jewellery to be bought online? 2. Why can’t it be designed for everyday wear? 3. Can a lean, just-in-time supply chain make jewellery design-first and transparent? These questions became the foundation of a journey from incubation to IPO with BlueStone emerging as a pioneer that redefined how India buys fine jewellery. Read more about "Making of BlueStone and how it beat the odds" in our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/gyyibWpG #IPO #Startup #Entrepreneurship

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