Lightspeed India Monthly Round-Up

As we look back at Apr‘25, we reflect on a month filled with new partnerships, news, events and insights. #AprilwithLightspeedIndia

PARTNERSHIPS

Emversity

We are proud to back Vivek Sinha and the team at Emversity as they continue on their mission to bridge the skill gap in India's healthcare sector.

Every year, over 5 lakh graduates join India’s healthcare workforce but just a fraction of that is ready to meet real-world demands. With its specialised courses, co-designed with leading hospitals like Fortis Healthcare, Narayana Health and others, Emversity is addressing this critical challenge. Read more about the fundraise here.

Stimuler

We are excited to back co-founders Akshay Akash, Akshat Baranwal, Ankit Kumar Pandey, Anesh Srivastav, and the team at Stimuler as they build the next-generation platform for spoken English learning!

Fluent English can open new worlds and opportunities, but access to high-quality practice tools has been limited, especially across emerging markets. Stimuler is solving this universal need with their AI-powered learning app, making spoken English practice accessible and personalised for users everywhere.

Learn more about our partnership and watch their story! 

READ, LISTEN AND WATCH 👀

Razorpay built a brand in B2B payments. From the logo to the checkout experience, every touchpoint reinforced trust and recall. That early choice still sets them apart today.

On Lunchbreak with Lightspeed, Razorpay's Co-Founder and CEO Harshil Mathur sat down with Dev Khare, breaking down the company’s journey, from a payment gateway aiming to democratise digital payments in India to a significant pillar of India’s fintech ecosystem.

Listen to the full episode for key learnings on picking the right problem, building a B2B brand, and scaling through uncertainty. 

In a conversation with CNBC International on ‘Inside India’, Dev Khare discussed the resilience of India’s startup ecosystem amid economic cycles. Expressing optimism about edtech, he highlighted Lightspeed’s focus on the sector, including its recent investment in PhysicsWallah. He also highlighted strength in sectors like fintech and healthcare, and shared perspectives on the future of venture capital, startups, and IPOs in India. Watch the full session.

 Abha Bhakoo joined Hubscale's podcast as she draws on over a decade of executive search experience to reveal what it truly takes to thrive in early-stage startups. Her approach centers on hiring critical roles in key markets, adapting the hiring playbook to each phase of the startup journey, and empowering leaders to scale themselves alongside their business. Watch the full podcast.

EXPERT INSIGHTS

Selvam VMS is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wheelocity, a logistics and supply chain startup focused on delivering fresh produce and daily essentials to Indian semi-urban and rural communities, known also as Bharat, to unlock the markets’ true potential and bring these unconnected regions into the digital commerce space.

Caecilia Chu is the Co-Founder and CEO of YouTrip, a leading multi-currency payment platform in Southeast Asia. YouTrip empowers individuals and businesses with inclusive, accessible, and affordable financial solutions through its products, YouTrip and YouBiz.

EVENTS

Lightspeed, in collaboration with E-Cell IIT Madras, hosted the GenAI Buildathon, a 24-hour sprint where student teams built GenAI products across enterprise and consumer use cases. The energy was palpable as builders pushed through the night, calibrating models and refining ideas.

At a panel hosted by Google and Google for Startups, Rohil Bagga joined industry leaders to discuss how Indian AI startups are navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. The conversation covered real-world applications of AI agents in sectors like healthcare, life sciences, and finance, strategies for building defensible moats, and emerging themes like vertical AI and robotics poised to shape the next 12 months.

MOMENTS WORTH A MENTION

Sarvam is leading the charge in building India’s sovereign LLM under the India AI Mission. Through this initiative, they will empower 1.4 Bn+ Indians with AI that speaks their languages and enable advanced reasoning and voice-first interaction

 Kudos to Vivek Raghavan, Pratyush Kumar, and the entire team at Sarvam .

Congratulations to Ritesh Agarwal , Founder and CEO of OYO, and Kieran Donovan, Co-Founder and CEO of k-ID, on being honored as part of the World Economic Forum’s The Forum of Young Global Leaders, Class of 2025. A well-deserved recognition for their impactful work!

Thank you for joining us as we recap the highlights of April. For daily updates, follow us on our LinkedIn page or subscribe to receive our monthly round-up directly in your inbox!