Mathew Panat

Will Perplexity and Aravind Srinivas finally win over India with the airtel deal? Here’s what the math says. They went live with a distribution deal with Airtel today, offering all of their 360 million customers 1 year of free Perplexity Pro worth $200 (₹17k). Firstly, not everyone is going to claim the offer. I suspect less than 10% will. Perplexity hopes that a year from now, they will see meaningful free to paid user conversion to justify this discount binge. Even if 50M claim the offer, at 1 query/day, it can cost Perplexity $100M-$500M/year. This is very conservative and actual costs could be more. But what exactly is Perplexity’s TAM via Airtel? I reckon it’s largely going to be corporate crowd who will use it for work. The general population is never going to pay for a 'Google alternative'. Urban Airtel customers who are in formal salaried roles comes to 24M (estimated by Perplexity). To get to $500M ARR, at least 10% of this (2.4M users) must convert to Pro. That’s an impossibly high number to achieve. Perplexity can go on a marketing drive in India to educate people about their complex feature set to increase their odds. Lastly, Airtel stands to gain very little, though this deal is exclusive to them (Jio has 500M users). While PPLX may be paying Airtel for distribution, you can reasonably expect Airtel to gain a few new customers (not a needle-moving number) who’d gain from this offer. Airtel’s cheapest prepaid annual plan is ~₹2k. Still a notional ₹15k benefit for a user who can throw away the SIM after a year. What could go wrong when the most expensive customer acquisition strategy meets the world’s most price-conscious market? Somewhere in SF, a Perplexity exec is about to learn what every Silicon Valley startup eventually discovers Indians love free trials almost as much as they hate paying for subscription.

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Consumers are used to digitally-driven, hyper-personalised experiences … so why isn’t the #banking sector providing the same? This question was posed by CMO and Head of Direct to Consumer Business Ravi Santhanam from HDFC Bank … and it was the same question that sparked their #CX reinvention journey. But HDFC’s story isn’t just another example of banking digital transformation. It demonstrates what can happen when #technology, #data and #leadership align … and how sales and marketing must work together to deliver personalised, meaningful customer experiences. This #TheCMOShow podcast episode is a must for financial services firms on their hyper personalisation journey: https://lnkd.in/gGGi-DJB #personalisation #martech #digital #transformation

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At #ETWLF2025, the fireside chat “The Battle for the Last Click: Payments in a Platform Age” with Rajat Taneja, President – Technology, @Visa, revealed how payments are evolving into the ultimate driver of trust and growth in the digital economy. Key takeaways: Digital Payments Landscape – India is still 50–55% cash-based with only 110M credit cards. The opportunity is massive, and the goal is not competition but collaboration to electronify payments. Future of Credentials – Cards are becoming tokenized, flexible identities—with a vision of one secure credential that works across platforms. Biometrics and one-click checkouts will redefine convenience beyond OTPs. AI’s Role – From fraud management since 1993 to Generative AI-powered personalization, AI is shaping payments. The focus: creating AI-ready credentials with privacy and transparency at the core. India as an Innovation Hub – Visa’s largest R&D center is in India. Many breakthroughs, including flex credentials, were born here—driven by world-class talent and a culture of innovation. Future of E-commerce – Expect hyper-personalized shopping, simplified discovery-to-purchase journeys, and platforms where trust, compliance, and seamless experiences converge. Takeaway: In the platform age, the last click is not just a transaction—it is the moment of truth where consumer trust, technology, and growth intersect. #ETWLF2025 #DigitalPayments #Fintech #PlatformEconomy #AI #FutureOfCommerce #Visa #Innovation #Ecommerce

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If you've been having trouble paying your Zomato bills through Simpl lately, here's what happened: the RBI has ordered Simpl to stop all payment operations immediately. Unlike most major BNPL players who have NBFC licenses (either their own or partnering with one), Simpl was operating without one. Simpl positioned itself as a payment utility. A digital "khata" or dues ledger—rather than a traditional lender. RBI has simply interpreted it as if Simpl is running a payment systems with clearing and settlement functions then it should do so with a proper Certificate of Authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act. However, this time it wasn't a warning or a request to get licensed—it was an order to halt operations with immediate effect. This move reflects the RBI's broader push to eliminate regulatory grey areas in fintech. With the new Payment Aggregator Master Directions 2025, the message is clear: whether you're lending money or processing payments, proper licensing is non-negotiable. The regulatory landscape is tightening indeed, and compliance needs to be the foremost priority. #fintech #RBI

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