Manesh Jain

A founder who has spent 32 Years building IP-Owned Tech in India's Defense Sector. Ashok Atluri, Founder of Zen Technologies Limited shares a growth story bootstrapped from Hyderabad: -Revenue: ₹60 Cr (FY21) → ₹930 Cr(FY24) -Market cap: 40 Cr (2012-13) → 13000 Cr today -Growth: 400X in 12 years Takeaways from our conversation: 1. India historically imported 65–70% of its defense equipment. Today, defense exports have grown more than 30× over the past decade, with the private sector contributing around 60% of exports. Domestic defense production has increased to ₹1.27 lakh crore, a 174% rise since FY 2014–15. 2. For over two decades, Zen built advanced simulators but struggled to sell them in India because single-vendor bids weren’t accepted. The IDDM policy in 2015 gave preference to IP-owning Indian companies and allocated 75% of the capital acquisition budget to local sourcing. And decades of R&D became a real market worth ₹200 billion. 3. Defense tech startups in India have raised $184 million in VC funding since 2020. Zen’s journey shows that IP-owned Tech built with self-funded R&D can build the most defensible advantage, similar to how Apple captures value through IP rather than manufacturing. 4. Zen’s anti-drone systems were proven in field operations, leading to export inquiries from over 20 countries. This mirrors the broader trend of India’s defense exports growing from ₹1,940 crore (FY14) to ₹21,083 crore (FY24). Field-tested solutions build trust far faster than lab demos or pilot projects. 5. Government fundings are rewarding innovation over manufacturing. Programs like iDEX provide up to ₹10 crore for proven concepts, while DRDO offers ₹50 crore per system under the Technology Development Fund. This shift allows companies to reinvest profits into next-generation R&D. 6. Ashok believes that not all technologies should be patented. Highly secretive or complex innovations can be reverse-engineered if patented. Instead, patent what is obvious to outsiders to protect your competitive edge. 7. Build with a focused approach on Pareto technologies with maximum impact. Instead of chasing every opportunity, Zen concentrated on the 20% of technologies delivering 80% of results, anti-drone systems and simulators. Prioritizing high-leverage areas compounds impact effectively. 8. Time market entry around overlooked gaps: In 2018, drones were a hot topic, but there was little attention on anti-drone systems. Zen entered this gap and was ready when the need became urgent, from regional conflicts to domestic security. Opportunities often lie where others are silent. 9. Create policies around your innovation: Self-funded R&D firms face unique risks that conventional procurement rules often overlook. Zen advocated for new categories rather than adapting breakthrough technologies to unsuitable frameworks, ensuring their innovations could be evaluated on merit. Full Episode https://lnkd.in/gnAFEj3f

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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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Anthropic just raised $13B Series F. For perspective: that’s more than double what all Indian startups combined have raised in 2025 so far. AI capital flows in US on a completely different scale compared to the rest of the world.

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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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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐎𝐫 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠? SEBI’s circular from its 210th board meeting (PR No. 08/2025, dated June 18, 2025) didn’t make front-page headlines. But in startup WhatsApp groups, it triggered DEFCON 1. The declaration: Only accredited investors - those with a net worth of at least Rs 7.5 cr (or Rs 2 cr annual income) - can invest in angel funds, going forward. These angels will be treated as Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), but only for the purpose of investing in angel funds. Cue: chaos. “Is angel investing dead?” “Will tier-2 founders lose all access to capital?” “Do I now need a CA, a PAN, and a Pradhan Mantri Aadhar KYC Yatra to back a startup?” But here’s my take: this may actually be one of the best things SEBI has done for Indian venture capital in years. The old model was creaking. Most angels were writing tiny cheques based on emotion, not diligence. A pitch deck with a nice font and some AI buzzwords, and boom - Rs.10 lakh wired. Within two years, they’re sitting on a 5-startup portfolio where: One has ghosted One pivoted into Agentic AI One’s in stealth (forever) And two are quietly “restructuring the cap table” So what happens next? They quit.They tell friends angel investing is a scam. And the ecosystem loses a potential long-term player - not because of startups, but because of lack of structure. Now imagine a professional fund. Pooled capital. 20+ startups. Institutional checks. Follow-on discipline. Rebalancing. Real risk-adjusted thinking. Even if half the portfolio fails (which it will), you still have a shot at outsized returns. This rule doesn’t kill angels - it filters out the dabblers. It encourages them to invest like LPs instead of day-traders. It pushes capital toward managed, diversified, transparent vehicles. And that’s a win for everyone - angels, founders, and the ecosystem. The jungle may have fewer tigers now. But maybe it also has fewer of the clueless. Angel investing isn’t over. It’s just growing up. #SEBI #angelinvesting #venturecapital #earlystage #IndiaVC #LPthinking #fundmodel #startups

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ChatGPT just launched a special product only for India. Not for Asia. Not for emerging markets. Just for India. ₹399 per month. UPI enabled. More memory. More access. All tuned for one user — the Indian. This is not a “feature.” This is OpenAI admitting that India is now the brief. You don’t roll out a separate subscription plan unless the market is that important. Unless the volume, behaviour, and pricing pressure force you to build from scratch. Unless ignoring India becomes more expensive than serving it. Every global brand has had this moment. → Netflix had to rewrite its pricing playbook. → McDonald's ’s dropped beef and launched aloo tikki. → Amazon designed CoD and kirana integrations only for us. → Spotify had to give up its Western playlists and go local. → Starbucks went from frappuccino to filter coffee. Because nothing “global” sells in India until it’s made for India. If you want to win here, you build with Indian payment flows, Indian pricing realities, Indian content layers, and Indian user patterns. This is not about localisation anymore. It’s about survival. OpenAI just did what most founders still avoid. They admitted: India is not a test market. India is the market.

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Based on the BharatNext Accelerator Investor Survey Analysis, here is a bullet point summary highlighting key investor preferences and event details: The data stems from the Investor Survey Analysis conducted by the #BharatNextAccelerator, India’s First District Startup Venture Studio Initiative, powered by Amrit Mehsana Startup & Innovation Mission. The analysis gathered 19 responses across various metrics. Investment Focus Areas: Sectors of Interest: The most preferred sector for investment is AI/ML & DeepTech (26.3%). The second most preferred sector is D2C / Consumer Products (21.1%). HealthTech & MedTech is also a significant area of interest (15.8%). Funding Preferences: Preferred Stage: Investors overwhelmingly favor startups in the Early Revenue stage, representing 78.9% of responses. The next preferred stage is Growth Stage (15.8%). Investment Ticket Size: There is a near-equal preference for two distinct ticket sizes: ₹50 Lakhs – ₹1 Crore (26.3%) and ₹3 Crores – ₹5 Crores (26.3%). Investment tickets of ₹1 Crore – ₹3 Crores are also highly sought after (21.1%). Interaction & Participation: Participation Format: A majority of investors prefer Physical Meeting / Demo Day (57.9%) over Online (One-to-one Startup Interaction) (42.1%). Investment Commitments on Demo Day: While a minority say 'No' (26.3%) to signing commitments on Demo Day, the vast majority (68.4%) are "Open to discussion" regarding signing investment commitments. Meeting Logistics: Preferred Time Slot: The most preferred time slot for interactions is the Afternoon (12 PM – 4 PM), accounting for 47.4% of responses. Preferred Duration: Most investors prefer a brief meeting duration of 30 Minutes (73.7%). Invitation to Upcoming Event: Join the #BharatNext Investment Pitching Festival on 09 Oct 2025. The event will be held at the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference, Mehsana, North Gujarat. Amrit Mehsana Startup & Innovation Mission #StartupMehsana #startupindia Sumeet Jarangal Abhishek Singh|Shradha Sharma|Milapsinh Jadeja|Sushil Sharma|Mihir Joshi|Jimish Kapadia|Mayuresh Raut|Amit Singal|Pranay Mathur|CA Swati Panchal|Amal P S|Jeffrey A. Stephens|Janne Rauramo|Chirag Patel|Sanni patel|Yamal Vyas|Dr.Panneerselvam ( PS ) Madanagopal|Jeet V.|Dr. Preet Deep Singh

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India is the place to be for consumer Startups and for Venture Capital  Broad overview of India Premiumization Thesis detailed below: Talking to multiple peers and ex-colleagues across US and EU markets - the sentiment is clear: - The US is slowing down - The EU is close to stagnating Meanwhile, India is accelerating - and we’re living through the years that will shape the country’s next few decades. This shift is clearly visible in real consumer data and behavioral changes: --- India’s Consumption Engine is Roaring - A rapidly expanding middle and upper-middle class is driving demand:   - The population earning over $10K annually is growing at 12%+ CAGR   - The $5K–$10K income segment is expanding at 10%+ CAGR - This means millions are entering a new income bracket every year - unlocking new consumption patterns. --- Credit is Fueling Premiumization - Credit card spend in India reached ₹1.87 lakh crore in May 2025, a 24% year-on-year growth - Over 111 million credit cards are now in circulation (as of mid-2025) - If you're reading this on LinkedIn, chances are you’ve had at least a few calls this week from credit card providers :) --- Behavioral Shifts Are Visible on the Ground - Consumers in metros are moving from price-sensitivity to quality-sensitivity   - Q-commerce platforms (Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart) are booming - not because they’re cheaper, but because they’re faster and more convenient - Premium product discovery is easier than ever, driven by:   - The rise of D2C brands and influencer-led content   - Deeper penetration of platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Nykaa in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities - Even bank term deposits crossed ₹205 lakh crore in July 2025 - signaling rising income and financial confidence --- Big-Ticket Premium Purchases Are on the Rise - India is now Apple’s 5th largest iPhone market globally, with iPhone shipments growing by 50%+ year-on-year - Premium car sales (₹25L+) have seen over 18% YoY growth in H1 2025, led by brands like Mercedes, BMW, and Audi expanding into Tier 2 cities - High-end electronics, wearables, and smart appliances are seeing double-digit growth on e-commerce platforms - There’s a clear shift not just more consumption, but better consumption --- Premiumization is a strong thesis we are bullish on - not just in luxury, but across everyday categories where aspiration meets affordability. The India story is already here. #Consumer #Thesis #Startups

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