Anand Prabhala

Differentiators of Map Apps: MapMyIndia: More & better static data e.g. speed breaker, pothole, radar, above / below flyover. Google Maps: More & better dynamic data e.g. traffic conditions, re-routing. Ola Maps: ? https://lnkd.in/dAirxUyp

1

Hyderabad-Based AI Startup Pulse Raises $1.4 Mn Seed Funding to Drive Innovation in Large Language Models and Agentic AI Hyderabad-based AI startup Pulse has secured $1.4 million (approximately INR 11.8 crore) in a seed funding round led by Endiya Partners. Notable angel investors, including the founders of Zluri and Yellow.ai, also participated in the round. Pulse plans to use the capital to expand its team and further develop its specialized large language models (LLMs) and agentic AI capabilities, according to a statement by the company. The startup is also dedicating resources to initial go-to-market initiatives to establish a foothold and gain market traction in both India and the US. Founded in 2024 by Haren Chelle, Vatsal Singhal, and Alok Thatikunta, Pulse provides an agentic AI platform designed for SaaS product teams. The platform consolidates and analyzes data from multiple sources, offering actionable insights, predictive analytics, and strategic recommendations. Full article visit: #SaaS #valuation #funding #startups #AI #news

1

Here's one more theme that has played out over the past decade in India SaaS: SaaS companies that sell into India/Asia (non-China/Japan). There's been a reasonably large set of investors in India who have been default no in this category, based on perception of limited TAM and GTM challenges. However, there is reason to be optimistic for this theme (we are!). A reasonable set of companies in the ecosystem have scaled, such as MoEngage, Darwinbox, Capillary Technologies, Yellow.ai, Unicommerce , Gupshup, CRMNEXT, LeadSquared. Companies like Salesforce, SAP etc have reached multi-hundred million ARR in India. As a result, the potential scale from sales in India has grown from the $15-20mm that people used to talk about 5 years back to perhaps $50mm in India, overall $100mm-150mm in Asia. I think we'll see more companies continue to get funded here as IT demand in India/SEA deepens and local requirements (mobile, India Stack, regulations, languages) get addressed. Founders and investors will need to tune into this being a solid path to go but will take longer to get to impact than US/EU-focused companies. Some characteristics we see at India/SEA-facing software companies: * Many start out in SMB but then find scale & success selling into enterprises. India market has a ton of SMBs (10mm+), a relatively light mid-market and a significant set of large enterprises. * Products tend to have feature sprawl and design-deficit but this can be fixed. * Some large sectors that are pulling at enterprise level e.g. BFSI, multi-sector conglomerates. Early traction from digital native companies (but naturally capped market). * Natural to go to SEA & Gulf countries. Product could remain fairly similar but sales & marketing motion can be quite different. To get really large, feels like will have to end up going to US/EU markets eventually. * ~10 years to $100mm ARR, with market leadership in Asia * Gross margins start out perhaps 10-15 points lower than corresponding companies in the US/EU but trend up over time. * Most India-facing SaaS companies are starting as India Pvt. Ltd. today, compared to 5 years ago (versus US C-corp), with a view to going public in India at $50-100mm revenue level.

274

14 Comments

At the Oxford India Forum, Rohan Murty, Founder and CTO of Soroco, delivered an insightful talk on AI's transformative impact on our relationship with words. He emphasized how current AI innovations are revolutionizing language interactions, marking a pivotal moment in computing history. Despite concerns about energy consumption, Murty's outlook on AI's future remains overwhelmingly positive. He envisions a landscape teeming with possibilities rather than problems. Murty also highlighted India's unique opportunity to lead in this AI-driven era. By investing in data curation, model training, and identifying practical AI applications, India can effectively harness the immense potential of AI. His words inspire optimism and action towards a future where AI enhances human capabilities and drives meaningful progress. #AI #OxfordIndiaForum #Innovation #Technology #FutureofAI #India #Leadership #DevotAI

3

Sharing some AI articles 1. https://lnkd.in/gVCw5h-N How to deal with AI 2. https://lnkd.in/g2UanMdF Full images also, but false advertising? 3. https://lnkd.in/gtr5G4F9 AI in Epilepsy: Seizure detection, onset zone, prediction 4. https://lnkd.in/gkwb7Q7f AI can unintentionally learn to deceive us.

15

It's about what India has given to us! It's not just about a way of giving back but it's also to thank what this country has given to us. Through Nutanix & DevRev Dheeraj Pandey has invested over $700M in India. Employed over 2000 folks. The impact diasporas would have on India is underrated. 55% of American unicorns founded by immigrants; Indians top the chart. CEOs of Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Starbucks? Indian origin. Now Imagine how the contribution of Indian Diasporas would play out in the next two decades. The best is yet to come. Mukesh Bansal Full episode:

2

Sarvam AI's launch of a full-stack Generative AI platform, and impressive fact about them is their commitment to Indian languages and accessibility. Their offerings include Sarvam 2B, a 2 billion parameter open-source LLM trained on 4 trillion tokens, with multilingual support for 10 Indic languages. They've also introduced Shuka 1.0, an AudioLM built on Meta‘s Llama 8B for Indic languages, along with enterprise solutions including Sarvam Agents and APIs. What excites me most is how Sarvam AI is democratizing AI for India's diverse linguistic landscape. At ₹1 per minute for voice-enabled agents, they're making AI accessible to businesses across sectors. Remember when Sam Altman doubted India's ability to build an OpenAI competitor? Well, the AI revolution in India is in full swing, and companies like Sarvam AI are proving that innovation knows no borders. With $41 million in Series A funding and partnerships with tech giants, Sarvam AI is positioning India as a formidable player in the AI race. #IndianAI #SarvamAI #GenerativeAI #TechInnovation

22

4 Comments

How to build interactive multimodal RAG agents that use emotional cues and context to generate content on the fly? Here is a quick demo. https://lnkd.in/gw28GX9Y

39

4 Comments

Thanks, Prof.Vasant Dhar Your prediction that conversational AI will replace search is coming true! It was indeed amongst the best episodes of ContraMinds Podcast for 2024. This conversation provides a brilliant road map of AI and its impact on businesses and business executives. It's a treat for listeners. It was also fun, as we discussed a wide range of topics about AI, not easily found anywhere about AI: - The rise of craftsmanship in the age of AI - Decision Making: Trusting AI and Human AI Collaboration - Big Tech Dominance and Data Monopoly - A leader's role in the age of AI - How open should AI be? People can listen to the entire episode here: https://lnkd.in/dqJ4avyb NYU Stern School of Business #AI European Association for Artificial Intelligence EurAI Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence News Artificial Intelligence Journal Perplexity Aravind Srinivas Vignesh Effortless Aswin Aditya #search #openAI #microsoft #google Santa Fe Institute

6

What Manush Labs has already managed to accomplish in the context of providing guidance to Start-Ups in India is a wonderful model that can be replicated in the true spirit of Nexus of Good. This article in The Millennium Post is all about the seminal work being done by this amazing organization. https://lnkd.in/gZDQrB4D

23

1 Comment

The International Monetary Fund #AI readiness Index places India above the Emerging Market average. I am sure it will turn out to be even better with #IndiaAIMission and the biggest AI-ready workforce. https://lnkd.in/greE3Rwh

33

IPL final 2024 looks like Kafka-Kubernetes-React combo is winning combo They reacted well to the changing/streaming conditions better and changed their approach scaling it well up/down even in cloudy conditions. #IPL #india #reactjs #kubernetes #kafka #programming #software

1

This post from Vaibhav Domkundwar beautifully shows how surviving long enough can position a startup to take advantage of an eventual tailwind. When we invested in Yulu, no one had a clue that Quick Commerce will become the next commerce phenomenon in the country after payments. Because Yulu intelligently survived, kept improving the product and is capital-efficient enough to be agile to market needs, it’s now befitting from QC tailwinds. Reminds me of what the Rippling founder once said - as a startup, just survive 10 years and the odds are that you will end up succeeding.

15

Lots of exciting Generative AI Startups in India. It's good to see AuraML Knorish VitraAI Spyne on the list along with so many more. Im sure there are more such exciting Generative AI companies. If you know of exciting #GenerativeAI companies in India and they are not on this list created by Inc42 Media , please do add them in the comments below. Kinner N Sacchdev Ayush Sharma Satvik Jagannath 🇮🇳 Arko C Rajesh Kalane Desi S Valli Meet The Startups Carving India’s Niche In The AI Space https://lnkd.in/d48Fvr9S

62

8 Comments

DSW | Data Science Wizards (DSW) has successfully secured $1.4 million in seed funding, achieving a valuation of $16.4 million, led by an angel investor. Founded in 2019 by Pritesh Surendra Tiwari, Ramesh Khare, Sandeep Khuperkar, and Shivam Thakkar, the company aims to revolutionize industries with its advanced AI platform, UnifyAI. The funding will enhance UnifyAI and expand DSW's team. Among their upcoming offerings is insurAInce, designed specifically for the insurance sector, featuring tools to improve risk management and operational efficiency. DSW also plans to introduce solutions for banking, telecom, retail, and manufacturing, enabling rapid implementation of AI in these sectors. #DataScienceWizards #FundingNews #AIInnovation #UnifyAI #StartupFunding #InsurTech #DigitalTransformation #ArtificialIntelligence #DeepTech #BusinessSolutions #AIAdoption #TechForGood #Startup77

2

1 Comment

Centific & International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) Combat #Malnutrition Through our latest #CSR initiative, Raj Reddy Center for Technology and Society (RCTS) at International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) received a funding from Centific, for its project on '#AI for Automated Malnutrition Detection'. Malnutrition affects millions worldwide, yet detecting and addressing it remains a significant challenge. But today, we're stepping up to make a difference! we've joined forces with IIIT-H to support the development of an #AI-Automated Malnutrition Detection system. By leveraging computer vision technology, the project aims to automate the process of detecting and tracking malnutrition, ensuring timely intervention and support for those in need. As pioneers in the AI & Analytics space, we've always been driven by a passion for exercising #AI for social good. This project serves as a testament to our ethos, blending innovation with impact, and driving technology to create tangible positive change in the world. #CSR #CentificCares #AIforSocialGood #FightMalnutrition Ramesh Loganathan Narayana Murthy

19

2 Comments

8 steps to build a nano GCC in India Thinking about setting up a nano #GCC (Global Capability Centre) in India? A quick guide: 1. Find Your Focus First, get clear on what your Nano GCC will specialize in—whether it’s #AI, biotech, or cybersecurity. Once you know your niche, set specific, actionable goals. 2. Pick the Right Spot While cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad are well-known tech hubs, don’t overlook tier-2 cities like Ahmedabad or Coimbatore. They’re more affordable and have rapidly growing talent pools. 3. Build Your Core Team Tap into local universities, tech incubators, and industry networks to find skilled talent. These places are goldmines for the bright minds you’ll need to get your GCC off the ground. 4. Partner Up Locally Align yourself with tech parks and state / national associations like #ASSOCHAM #NASSCOM #KDEM etc. They’ll provide the guidance, support, and resources you need to navigate local regulations. 5. Invest in Top-Notch Tech Make sure your center is equipped with the latest #technology to support high-performance computing and innovation. 6. Stay Legal Follow local regulations & frameworks to align to country laws, corporate & employment policies besides those around cybersecurity & data protection. 7. Encourage Innovation Foster a culture of continuous learning and keep your tech and processes up to date. 8. Get in Touch with gatewAI We, at gatewAI, are passionate about helping MNCs and their GCCs set up and grow in #India. Whether you need market insights, regulatory guidance, or help finding the right talent, we’ve got you covered. We also take care of real estate, infrastructure, and offer a seamless Build-Operate-Transfer process. Let’s shape the future of #talent, #technology, and #transformation together! DM us to get started! #NanoGCC #GlobalCapabilityCentres #AIpowered #TechSolutions #GlobalExpansion #GatewAI #Businesses #TechInnovation #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Innovation

36