Siddhartha Ahluwalia

Lovely to hear the Confederation of Indian Industry and CII Industry-Academia Partnership podcast with Prof. V Ramgopal Rao on the crucial need to significantly boost India's academia-industry partnerships. #techtransfer #knowledgetransfer #licensing #collaboration UniversityTech.io - AI Copilot for Global Tech Transfer Makarand Kaprekar Dr. Srikanth Sundararajan Darshan Gangolli Rishikesh Trivedi Dinesh Nambiar Ph.D Rikin M Sanghvi Sreenivas Chigullapalli Darren Griffin Deborah Whittaker Rahul Rajinder Prakash Mahajan Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) 🎙️ Listen here: https://lnkd.in/dVJ_tQXQ Some key highlights: 1. India is ranked 86th in the world on industry-academia partnerships, according to the 2024 Global Innovation Index (GII). This stands in contrast to India's higher placement on other innovation metrics. Research sitting on the shelf has no value. 2. Out of the 120 unicorns in the country, only 5% are IP based. 3. We need to move from demographic dividend to innovation dividend. 4. Startups can help become the bridge between academia and industry. India ranks 3rd in the world in terms of the startup ecosystem. However, IP based startups are coming mostly from faculty/students and they are not able to scale up and navigate regulatory issues - ie valley of death! Industry can help to move these companies/technologies from TRL 3 to TRL 7. 5. Industry needs clear policy incentives to participate/contribute in the R&D ecosystem. MSMEs can help play the roles of test beds, with their facilities and expertise. 6. While ANRF is currently helping in ease of doing research, government bodies can also create templates/guidelines on how to jointly develop IP with industry, including ownership structures. 7. A lot of interesting things are happening in academia, but there is very little awareness amongst industry. 8. The biggest challenge is disconnect in terms of culture and metrics. Academia likes to solve long term, tough problems and not in terms of quarters. In terms of metrics, patents filed, papers published and widely cited with awards/event presentations are seen as successes in this world. Industry is totally opposite - they want new knowledge to be protected, hidden and to be monetisable as soon as possible. 9. Publicly funded institutions are unable to bring in much needed private sector expertise because of the bureaucratic cap on salaries. Private sector also will not move and downgrade to government level salaries. 10. Industry has deep domain expertise, real world experience and can help co-supervise PhDs but they are not allowed to in many institutions because the industry professionals themselves may not have earned a PhD. 11. 95% of institutions find it very difficult to collaborate with industry because of all of these bureaucratic hurdles. 12. ANRF needs a dedicated cell to look at systemic reforms for academia-industry collaboration.

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An AI health companion with 3.5M users A clinical assistance tool for 100k doctors Real-world data from 230 yrs worth of consultations SOTA performance on all medical benchmarks 95%+ purely organic acquisition Retention metrics that mirror the world's best consumer products Anuruddh Mishra & team August AI have quietly built a long-time coming revolution that puts the central stakeholder in healthcare back at the centre: the patient! We believe that personalised health companions for every individual will be an inevitable (and exceptionally positive!) consequence of frontier AI capabilities. August's approach of carefully building trust through a proactive conversational interface, proprietary long-term memory stack, & complementing practising doctors instead of trying to replace them puts them at the forefront of building such a platform from India. We're also delighted to partner with Dr Ranjan Pai (Chairman, Manipal Education & Medical Group) & Udit Ahuja from Claypond Capital, who bring immense expertise in healthcare, for the long journey ahead with August. Accel in India Subrata Mitra Our blog on why we invested in comments.

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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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Home Grown VC Fund Raise Pyramid 👇 From the Venture Intelligence India VC Landscape Report. Download for free at https://lnkd.in/g_sxghB4 #VentureCapital #startupindia #infographic #VCIndia #startups #startup #homegrown #fundraising #funds #VC #VCfunds

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We recorded my chat with Vidit Aatrey at South Park Commons, Bangalore — much earlier this year. Then we waited for the now epic IPO, as the company was in a silent period. If you've read the many headlines, and are wondering how Meesho made such a remarkable market debut, you should listen to this chat! More importantly, you should listen to this, to know how Vidit & Sanjeev Barnwal achieved what they did while still in their early 30s! One only wonders what’s to come, as they continue building for decades. Here's to many more stories like this! Link to full episode in comments.

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Israeli observability startup Coralogix has raised $115 million in a Series E round, becoming a unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion. Coralogix offers a full-stack observability and security platform that helps companies understand and resolve complex issues in their data streams. The company has developed an AI agent, Olly, which uses a semantic layer over internal and external data to automate data observability and provide sophisticated insights through simple text prompts. The all-equity round was led by NewView Capital, with participation from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments | Investissements RPC) and NextEquity Partners, alongside existing investors. The funding will be used to expand its engineering base in India, with a planned $100M investment over five years, and to further develop its AI agent. Congratulations to co-founder and CEO Ariel Assaraf and the Coralogix team. TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/dS3NZrrG #Observability #Data #AI #DevOps #Unicorn #SeriesE #Funding #VentureCapital #IsraelTech

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Recko | A Stripe company's $150M acquisition proved that India Talent can build world class software. Here are the top learnings from my podcast with Saurya, Co-founder, Recko: 1. Recko was founded in 2017 by Saurya and Prashant to fix the complex and broken process of financial reconciliation in fast-growing B2C companies like Flipkart and Blinkit. 2. Getting the product off the ground was really tough. Early customers openly said they didn’t need it, and investors thought the idea was pointless. Recko was trying to build in a new category where there were no benchmarks or clear paths to follow. 3. Their first big break came from Myntra, who reached out just when Recko was down to their last $500. Over the next 3 to 4 months, they worked closely with Myntra’s finance team to solve huge reconciliation problems involving millions of data rows. That work earned them the credibility to build the product. 4. Indian VCs passed on Recko for several reasons: Lack of investor-focus on B2B during 2017-18 , the perception that back-office products were unsexy and the pressure for fast hockey stick growth. In some cases, even customers denied they had the problem Recko was solving, which confused potential investors further. 5. Saurya shares that India’s B2B ecosystem has “over-indexed” on cost advantages and marketing-heavy models. But to truly compete globally and reach higher valuations, companies should start with a solid product that offers real value through Tech and product superiority, not just by being cheaper. 6. For early-stage B2B startups, the most important metrics is not ARR, but product shape & product usage- how often the product is used and how critical it is to the workflow of the business. If your product becomes part of a company’s core workflow, it’s much harder for them to stop using it- even if it’s tough to sell at first. 7. Stripe's acquisition of Recko was primarily a product acceleration and product suite completion strategy. With financial operations closely tied to payments, Recko brought deep expertise in that space- something Stripe's customers were already asking for. 8. Recko was acquired at a 75X revenue multiple of $2 million ARR - A result of the product's unique strength, very specific domain knowledge, and "thickness" in its product layer. This contrasts with companies offering easily replicable solutions or operating in crowded, benchmarked categories, which give them lesser leverage in acquisitions. 9. The acquisition process took about six months, with four of those months spent on intense due diligence. Founders must manage conflicting expectations from investors and employees while maintaining highly confidential communication throughout. 10. Saurya advises founders to prioritize long-term relationships over attempting to "squeeze the last drop" of money during an acquisition, as future collaborations are likely. 

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Pleased to announce that Karekeba Ventures, among others, has invested in Stylework SaaS-based co-working/managed workspace aggregator Stylework on Wednesday announced the closure of Rs 30-crore Pre-Series B funding, which is planned to be deployed towards technology enhancement, domestic and international market expansion, and hiring key leadership personnel. Of the total funding, the company had achieved the first close of Rs 10-crore led by Equentis Angel Fund last month, with participation from Karekeba ventures /Cogniphy AIF Fund alongside continued subscriptions from Lets Venture Fund, MoneyVyapaar, HNIs and other strategic investors, Stylework said. Karekeba Ventures Kshitiz Anand Vishal Nikumbh

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*Important Post* How several HealthTech SaaS companies are actively scamming the VC firms and significantly spoiling the entire Indian HealthTech market? Sequence of Steps: 1. Price the SaaS product as less as 500-1500 INR per clinic per month. Offer introductory pricing, which further reduces it to 100-500 INR per month. 3. Onboard clinics on introductory pricing. Those clinics that don't pay, the founding team pays the money from their pocket. The books of the startup record the revenue coming from the customers. The Founders & marketing team put in 10,000-20,000 INR per month to show 100-200 active customers. Obviously they will take back this money in form of salaries. 4. Raise $1-10M investments from VCs back of exponential growth and 100+ clinics signing up in less than 6 months. Few (paid) doctor testimonials would add cherry on the cake. 5. With the VC investment, hire more sales managers, who repeat the similar things that founding team did. Show 10,000 active customers. This time around, they also collect hefty bonuses to onboard more clinics. The salary packages also go up by 100-300%. 6. After 3-4 years, wind up the company or find another larger entity who purchases the startup. Multiple startups have done this or doing this SCAM actively. It doesn't take one week time for any new startup to see through this. Visit clinics and check which software is being used and how much the clinic has paid. Go to a clinic, pay the consultation fees for doctor and then talk to doctor for 5-10 mins. Visit 40-50 clinics in a city and you will see the big picture. ------------ Venture Capital firms are hiring arm-chair analysts who want to do due diligence sitting in their offices. Literally no effort is made to actually understand whether the clinics are using the software, whether the doctors are finding value and paying for the software. This involves significant amount of hard work with tasks such as visiting clinics discreetly and doing proper background check. Checking the logs on software usage. The core reason why this bothers me so much is that, the clinics expects the same from every HealthTech company. They want them to offer them the software at a price less than 1000 INR per month. The clinic might be paying 100,000+ INR on rent, 30,000+ INR for electricity, 10,000+ INR for maid, 20,000 INR for receptionist, etc. But when it comes to software, they don't want to pay and that situation is artificially created by these SCAM healthtech companies.

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Ankur Capital is excited to invest in Turiyam AI, powering the future of AI inference. It's playing into the need for edge use silicon, that's going to optimise use of resources as AI becomes all pervasive. We look forward to partner with Sanchayan Sinha Parag Jain Praveen Jain in building the Indian semicon sector Ritu Verma Krishnan Neelakantan Vishal Katariya Vishal Aman Suraj Nair Sama Jashnani Burzin Dubash Yagna Sreeramaneni Debansh Sahoo

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Rainy days in Mumbai often inspire reflections on the happenings in the #startup ecosystem. When asked about the state of the India startup market, I sum it up concisely: - The funding winter is behind us, with green shoots flourishing, signaling the arrival of Spring. - Funding is now more concentrated, favoring startups with sound economics and mature founders for subsequent rounds. - First-time raises are decreasing, accompanied by smaller cheque sizes. - Valuation euphoria has subsided, with a shift towards a more grounded approach influenced by collective wisdom. These dynamics are fostering a favorable environment for #VentureDebt, particularly gaining traction among SaaS startups with low churn rates and defined revenue. Venture debt is increasingly recognized as an effective tool in India, enabling startups to expand round sizes, extend runways, manage dilution impacts, and optimize #CostofCapital (WACC).

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With over 11,000 startups, India’s healthtech sector is brimming with talent. But a shortage of early-stage capital is pushing promising ventures overseas. This sector needs more than funding. It needs better infrastructure, public procurement support, and founders who can balance tech brilliance with business savvy. The good news is that 2025 is seeing a funding revival, and the ecosystem is warming up. With the right push—smart capital, supportive policy, and a shift towards commercial thinking—India could become the global hub for healthtech. The foundation is here. It’s time to build on it. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g-65ANC5 #Healthtech #StartupIndia #Innovation #Deeptech #MakeInIndia #EarlyStageFunding

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Venture Funds are noticing tech operators becoming Limited Partner (LP)s and this is unlocking newer sources of capital- Swathi Moorthy reports for The Economic Times. Thanks Swathi. ETtech At WYSER - Pioneering Agentic AI Venture fund we are seeing resonance of this trend in India. With Wyser LPs, we are witnessing creation of a virtuous loop where capital is amplified by expertise, networks, and execution know-how. Satyakam Mohanty Read the article for full view Source: The Economic Times: https://lnkd.in/dWuaxErG

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Entrepreneur lessons from a venture capitalist- a revenue model that is gaining popularity : Usage Based Pricing What is usage-based pricing? Usage-based pricing is a popular alternative to subscription-based pricing wherein customers are free to modulate their usage and companies measure usage and bill accordingly. It’s designed to capture more value, based on the assumption that the functionality customers are paying for is measurably improving their own bottom line, so they’ll be happy to pay. For example, if they’re using more API calls, that means they’re delivering more orders. Advantages of usage-based pricing 1. It’s appealing to users The straightforwardness of usage-based pricing appeals to many customers. It’s simple: Pay for what you use and nothing more. Much like a mini fridge in a hotel, you’re free to consume whatever you wish and you’ll get charged accordingly. Similarly, if you don’t touch anything, you won’t incur a charge. 2. Low barrier to entry Usage-based pricing and product-led growth tend to go hand-in-hand. Since customers don’t have to sign an upfront contract or hand over a substantial budget to get started, they can begin with a small amount of usage, and quickly scale up as they receive more value from your product. Customers only pay more as they benefit from increased usage and you get to share in your customer’s success as you scale with them. This approach may even widen your addressable market by making your product accessible to smaller companies. 3. Potential for quick spikes in revenue When customer usage surges, it means you’ll capture a large amount of revenue in a short period of time. Of course, the flipside of this is when usage plummets, you may run into a cash flow problem. 4. Higher net dollar retention Companies that leverage usage-based pricing far outperform their peers in terms of net dollar retention. Downsides of usage-based pricing zjd hoe to mitigate them 1. Low switching costs While an annual contract locks customers in, usage-based pricing lacks the same upfront commitment. This allows users to switch software providers on a whim. One bad experience is all it takes to lose them instantly. Usage-based pricing may prompt users to constantly consider and reconsider whether the value of your product is worth it How to mitigate: Invest in a stellar customer experience, even for lower-paying customers. Give support and service reps authority to discount to win back disgruntled customers. 2. Creates revenue (and cash flow) insecurity Since customers are free to modulate their usage at-will, you can’t guarantee a steady flow of revenue. It also becomes harder to forecast future revenue since customers can turn down their spend anytime. How to mitigate: Recognize that usage decreases from some customers will often be by increases from other customers. Invest heavily in data science and personnel to forecast, accounting for unknowns and complex factors like seasonality.

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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫? 𝐖𝐡𝐲 0-𝐭𝐨-1 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞. 🚀 0-to-1 founders: Ever heard the term design partner and wondered what it actually means — or why it matters? In Episode 18 of An Operator's Blog, Indus Khaitan (Founder & CEO of Redblock) breaks down what a design partner is, how they can accelerate early product development, and why having one could be the smartest move you make pre-launch. 🎯 Especially relevant if you're building Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) or validating early users. (Full episode link in comments)

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Most brands are considering to launch an app But few know if it’s 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. In our latest "Dilse Omni talks" podcast, I asked Abhijeet Singh ( cofounder Appbrew : Why do companies hesitate to build apps? “They aren’t skeptical - but dont know how to measure success.” And that’s where most go wrong. At top D2C brands with App benchmarks 👇 • Apps drive 50%+ of total D2C sales • Deliver 2-3x better conversion rates • Give 30-40% higher AOV • Achieve 2x higher retention • And boost LTV by 2-3x Yet many brands still don’t track these numbers. Because having an app is easy. But having a successful app needs measurement. Check out the full episode link in comments 👇 & learn how to make your app your biggest growth driver.

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The healthcare ecosystem in India presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities for startups. The 4th Brij Round discussion with the founder of an India-focused health platform highlighted several crucial points for pitching investors in this complex market: Clarify Your Stakeholders and Sales Channels: It is essential to clearly articulate which stakeholder will be paying for your product and who will be responsible for making the sale. This demonstrates a clear understanding of the market dynamics. Justify Your Sales Channel: Go beyond identifying your sales channel. Explain why it is the most effective choice and what incentives are in place for that channel to succeed. Focus on Value and Retention, Not Just Technology: While your technology is important, your pitch should focus on the tangible value you provide to the user and the strategies you will employ for user retention. Provide Clear ROI Calculations: India is a price-sensitive and value-conscious market. A well-articulated calculation of the return on investment for your customers is not just a nice-to-have; it's a necessity. Keep Your Initial Presentation Focused: Avoid overwhelming investors with too much information in the first meeting. The primary objective of your initial pitch is to convince them of your vision and the viability of your business. Further details can be discussed in subsequent meetings. Navigating the Indian healthcare market requires a nuanced approach. A pitch that addresses these key points will be significantly more compelling to investors. #Healthcare #HealthTech #Startup #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #India #Pitching

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