Adarsh Appaiah

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 $𝟭 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 India’s manufacturing output hit $471B in FY24, and if current momentum continues, it’s projected to nearly triple to $1.3T by FY30. But this isn’t just about topline growth, it’s about a shift in the quality of what we’re building. We’re moving from assembly to IP-led manufacturing, from manual production to automation and digitization, and from commoditized inputs to strategic sectors like electronics, aerospace, and medical devices. This is what we call advanced manufacturing—companies that build or apply deep R&D, proprietary equipment, or process innovation to drive step changes in performance, efficiency, or cost. It’s not a buzzword. It’s where the world is headed. And it’s where India has a real shot at global leadership. 𝗔𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹, 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀. Smartphone exports crossed $24.1B in FY25, making them our largest export category. Over 200 mobile factories are now operational, up from just 2 in 2014. And PLI incentives have catalyzed over ₹14 lakh crore in production. This isn’t a government-led push alone. It’s a rare convergence of policy, global supply chain shifts, and startup energy. If we lean in now—with capital, skilling, and long-term conviction—India won’t just participate in the global manufacturing wave. We’ll shape it.

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Shivakumar Ganesan, Co-founder & CEO of Exotel, joins The Neon Show. A 14-year journey from bootstrap to scale, Exotel’s story is one of India’s most remarkable SaaS journeys. We discuss: 1. How Exotel grew for 8 years post-seed round without external funding 2. What happened when COVID slashed revenues from $10M to $5M. 3. The bold strategic moves: 3 funding rounds & 2 acquisitions that followed. 4. The tough transition of customer base from SMBs to enterprises. 5. Building a ₹2500 crore+ business without leaving India. 6. Why Shivku chose to stay focused on India despite advice to go global first. 7. How automation could cut contact center jobs by 80%. 8. The challenge of building voice AI across 30+ Indian languages. And much more on timing, reading the market, and creating moats in overlooked opportunities. The episode drops today on The Neon Show.

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Ever wondered why US VCs invest more in SaaS while in India we focus on consumer? From a seed investor’s lens, the math looks very different. In the US (SaaS) → Predictable ARR means companies can raise debt early, so equity rounds are cleaner and less frequent. A seed investor who comes in at $5–10M valuation often still holds a meaningful stake by Series C. Multiples at exit (10–20x ARR) only compound that advantage. In India (Consumer) → Brands chew up capital for inventory and offline scale. That means round after round of equity, each one crushing early investors. A seed cheque at $5M valuation can shrink to a rounding error by the time the company is big. On spreadsheets, it looks like bad math. But here’s the paradox: India’s consumption depth is so large that even after ugly dilution, outcomes can still be big enough to make sense. In the US, SaaS is the logical bet. In India, consumer is the volume bet. For seed investors, it’s not about who scales faster — it’s about who leaves you with more stake once they do :)

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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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🚨 Big Change for Angel Investors in India SEBI has raised the bar for who qualifies as an Accredited Investor: 📉 Earlier: ₹2 Cr net tangible assets (excluding primary residence) was enough to start angel investing. 📈 Now: Net worth ≥ ₹7.5 Cr (with ₹3.75 Cr in financial assets) OR Income ≥ ₹2 Cr annually OR Income ≥ ₹1 Cr + Net worth ≥ ₹5 Cr (with ₹2.5 Cr in financial assets) Corporates/Trusts need ₹50 Cr net worth This raises a crucial question: 💭 What happens to those who met the earlier requirements, began their angel journey, but no longer qualify under the new rules? 👉 Will they be locked out of funds? 👉 Does early-stage capital shrink? 👉 Or will new models emerge to keep them engaged? I’d love to hear perspectives from founders, fund managers, and fellow investors. Drop your thoughts ⬇️ #AngelInvesting #StartupEcosystem #IndiaStartups #VentureCapital #AngelInvestors #SEBI #InvestingInIndia

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In venture capital, ultimately “only a handful of companies per year actually matter”. Just 7 firms led the Series A of ~60% of startups in India that are worth $1B+ today. The list of firms leading investments in these cos is fairly predictable - PANZEL + Tiger Global. Full post on India's unicorn hunters in the comments

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After a fabulous two years at Kae Capital, I knew it was time to build the fund I wished had existed when I was a founder. Today, I’m launching Boundless Ventures, an early-stage, AI-native venture firm backing India-rooted founders who are building globally defensible companies at the intersection of science, systems, and culture. Boundless starts with a simple belief: the next decade’s breakout companies won’t “add AI” as a feature. They’ll be AI-native from day one, rethinking consumer products, enterprise workflows, and infrastructure with new primitives. We’ll write the first cheque ($200–400K), and then double down. We’ve proud to have already partnered with six category-shaping founding teams: • Superhealth: rethinking healthcare from the ground up • Armatrix: autonomous snake-arm robots for engine inspection • PierSight: real-time ocean intelligence • KNOT: AI-native fashion discovery and logistics • Two stealth companies in infra and consumer AI Our thesis spans four arenas: • The AI-native stack: infra, agents, and memory protocols • Make-in-India hardware: autonomous systems, design-led manufacturing • New-India consumer: culture × code • Science × story: where deep tech meets narrative leverage India is not catching up. It’s compounding. Boundless exists to back originals, with speed, belief and storytelling firepower. Link to our website & thesis below.

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🚨 RBI’s New Co-Lending Directions, 2025 – Effective Jan 1, 2026 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new Co-Lending Arrangements Directions, 2025, which will come into effect on January 1, 2026. These guidelines will likely broaden the scope of co-lending 1️⃣ Mandatory Skin in the Game – Each Regulated Entity (RE) must retain minimum 10% of every loan (no shadow partnerships) 2️⃣ Blended Interest Rate – Final rate to borrower = weighted average of each lender’s rate. All fees to be factored into APR & Key Facts Statement 3️⃣ 15-Day Transfer Rule – Partner RE must book its share within 15 days of disbursement. Else, loan stays with originator 4️⃣ Default Loss Guarantee Cap – Max 5% of outstanding loans allowed 5️⃣ Borrower-Level Asset Classification – If one lender marks SMA/NPA, the other must follow 6️⃣ Escrow Account Mandate – All transactions to flow through an escrow, ensuring clear fund appropriation 7️⃣ Full Disclosure – Public list of co-lending partners + detailed reporting in financials Bottom line: Clearer rules, stronger consumer protection, tighter operational discipline >> co-lending just got a lot more transparent. #RBI #CoLending #NBFC #Fintech #Credit https://lnkd.in/gKxrz_hC

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Anthropic raised $13B at a $183B valuation Fundraise is greater than entirety of VC in India raised in 2024, valuation is close to that of all of India's unicorns in total The crazy part is that it's a spin-off team from OpenAI, which itself is worth $300B Different scale

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🚨 Urban Company’s existing investors are backing its Rs 1,900 crore IPO in a big way - Steadview Capital, Singapore’s Arohi, Think Investments and DF International have subscribed to 10% of the Rs 854 crore anchor book. All of the have been investors in Urban Company since at least 2021 - This comes after Elevation Capital has picked up additional shares through its late-stage fund from Tiger Global

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$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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