Pranay Desai

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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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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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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When we started in 2022, we didn’t have giant warehouses, celebrity endorsements, or billion-dollar funding. Sumit Jasoria, started with just ₹50 lakh pooled together — savings, small loans, and belief. The pain point was clear: 👉 Women in India, especially Gen Z and millennials, wanted trendy, affordable, fast fashion. 👉 But the choices were either overpriced international brands or outdated local offerings. The struggle was real. We were rejected by early investors who said, “Fashion is too competitive.” Suppliers didn’t trust us with bulk orders. Customers doubted if a new brand could deliver both quality and trend. Our first collection barely sold. We thought of shutting shop. But we decided to listen — really listen — to what young Indian women wanted. Bold fits, vibrant colors, and global styles at Indian prices. That pivot changed everything. Within 6 months, we were shipping thousands of orders daily. By the end of year one, we had crossed ₹100 crore in revenue. In just 2 years, NEWME became a ₹250 crore brand. Not because we had deep pockets, but because we built a brand that spoke the language of Bharat’s new-age women. #startup Today, NewMe has millions of loyal customers, a strong presence across e-commerce, and is backed by investors who once said “no.” We’ve built not just a fashion label, but a movement of self-expression for Indian women. 📌 What Indian Founders Can Learn from NewMe’s Journey. Listen to your customers, not just investors. Pivot when needed. Feedback is free market research. Solve for Bharat, not just metros. The biggest opportunities lie in Tier II & III cities Culture sells. Build a brand that connects emotionally with young India, not just logically.

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How does he sell products on Amazon every THREE seconds? The answer lies not just in the product, but in the PRICE. 💰 ➡️In the chapter “PRICING: THE HOLY GRAIL OF BUSINESS” from my book Startups of Bharat, we unpack the story of Varun and Tarun from Boult, one of India’s top three audio and wearable brands that has bootstrapped its way to 750 CR in revenue. 😳 At a time when international heavyweights like Bose, Sennheiser, and Marshall already dominated the premium segment, and local brands were competing on price, Boult charted its course. 👇🏻 Varun and Tarun discovered a clear gap ⏩Customers wanted premium design and sound quality — without the premium price tag. However, identifying a gap and monetising it are two distinct things. The real game-changer? Boult’s adoption of the target costing model—a method where you first decide the price customers are willing to pay and then engineer your product to fit the cost constraints. For example, if the COGS is capped at 60% and comes to 2200, with a remaining 40% margin, your price would be Rs 3080. This meant tight control over production costs, design-led differentiation, and a refusal to fall into the trap of over-innovation. Profitability wasn’t a distant milestone—it was baked into the business model from day one and reinvested to grow the business to 750 CR and take the No. 3 spot in the ever-competitive audio category. 💪 Ask yourself ⬇️ I) Would your customers still trust your product if it cost 20% more—or 20% less? II) Are you pricing based on cost or value perception? III) Is your pricing strategy helping you build a brand, or just moving inventory? IV) What does your price say about you, even before your product does? Find the answers in “PRICING: THE HOLY GRAIL OF BUSINESS” — only in Startups of Bharat on Amazon. Link in comments! Varun Gupta Surya Pasricha 🌞 BOULT #startupsofbharat #startups #india

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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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The Great GCC Paradox: We’re Hiring, but Losing India’s GCCs are expected to cross $100B by 2030. But here’s what no one’s openly talking about: We’re leaking talent at the top, and hiring at the bottom. 1. A new study by Mercer shows mid-career attrition in tech has doubled since 2022. 2. CXO-level hiring cycles in GCCs have stretched beyond 6 months (Zinnov, 2024). 3. Returnee talent with global exposure is still asked: Q) “Why do you want to come back?” Q) “Are you too senior for this role?” We’ve mastered delivery. But we’re stuck in a talent loop: - Entry-level upskilling is celebrated - Strategic leadership hiring is feared - Internal mobility is sluggish - Culture fit outweighs culture transformation The result? India’s most capable talent is being interviewed by Singapore, Berlin, and Dubai, while local GCCs are still refining JD drafts. What if the real growth limiter isn’t infrastructure or policy… …but our inability to bet on catalytic leadership? You can’t build a $100B ecosystem with a $1M mindset. Let’s talk: What one mindset shift would unlock India’s next-gen GCC play? #GCC #LeadershipHiring #IndiaTalentCrisis #DigitalTransformation #ReturneeTalent #LeadershipGap #CXOHiring #Mercer #Zinnov #StrategicIndia #FutureOfWork #TalentFlight #HyderabadTech #GCCReset Zinnov Achyut Menon "AK" LinkedIn News India Reshab Shaw Vishwanadh Raju Viswanathan K S GCC Pulse™ Korn Ferry KPMG India

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Pronto just raised $11M in Series A funding! Co-led by General Catalyst & Glade Brook Capital (with BCV), this Gurgaon-based real-time household help platform is set to: ⚡ Expand into Mumbai, Bengaluru & more ⚡ Build micro-hubs for sub-10-min service ⚡ Onboard 10,000+ new workers Pronto isn’t just scaling — they’re redefining how fast and reliable home services can be. 🏡✨ #FundingNews #SeriesA #StartupGrowth #OnDemandEconomy #IndiaStartups #HouseholdServices #TechForGood #Pronto

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💡 A perspective for founders on angel money Many founders ask for very small cheques from angels — ₹5–10L. Nothing wrong with that, but here’s the reality: 👉 The smaller the cheque, the lesser the involvement. Why? Because time is also an investment. If the stake is tiny, the incentive to spend hours guiding, mentoring, and opening networks naturally reduces. As angels, we love to support founders. But meaningful guidance, regular reviews, and network push usually come when there’s meaningful skin in the game. So if you’re raising, think beyond “let me collect 20 small cheques.” Instead, ask yourself: “Which 2–3 angels can back me meaningfully with both money and time?” ⚡ Funding isn’t just about filling the cap table. It’s about building the right circle of believers who walk with you. #AngelInvestor #FounderTips #Fundraising #StartupInsights #DeepakBhagnaniFamilyOffice

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