Manas Kumar Verma

Excited to share this News, 888vc, Our Early-stage venture capital firm based in Bangalore, India has launched platfrom Gro8 backed by ₹175 crore (US$ 20M) fund to back startups focused on AI, deep tech, Enterprise SAAS and sustainability over the next three years. 💡 Key Focus Areas: 🔹 Average ticket size of ₹2–4 crores 🔹 Sector Agnostic Angel fund 🔹 Focus on globally scalable solutions 🔹 Launch of GRO8 angel platform for cross-border funding, mentorship & market access 📌 If you’re building in AI, deep-tech, or sustainability with ambitions to grow globally, let’s talk. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gtUcYkrx #888vc #gro8 #venturecapital #angelinvestments #startups

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🚀 Bihar’s Startup Ecosystem — This Is Your Moment. For the very first time, Mr. Sabeer Bhatia, Founder of “HOTCOIN”, Co-Founder at ShowReel/ Co-Founder of Hotmail (sold to Microsoft) , will be addressing the #startups, #entrepreneurs, and #students of Bihar in an exclusive virtual session. And joining him is Mr. Ramesh Yadava, Professor of Entrepreneurship (JUT, Ranchi & BIT Sindri), Serial Entrepreneur, and Member of the TiE Founding Team — bringing powerful grassroots-to-global perspective. 🎯 BOOTCAMP: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐦 “𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧” Organised by Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP) in collaboration with TiE Patna, this session is designed for founders, dreamers, builders, and future entrepreneurs who want to turn ideas into scalable ventures. If you’re building… thinking of building… or still figuring it out — this is a room you want to be in. 📅 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 ⏰ 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌 𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 💻 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 🎟️ 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 — 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.  🔗 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤/𝐐𝐑 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫.  📩 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤. it is a chance to learn from someone who built one of the world’s most iconic tech platforms at a time when the word “startup” was barely known in India. Long before today’s ecosystem of pitch decks and venture capital, he built, scaled, and exited a global technology product — and continues to create successful ventures in the evolving digital economy. That kind of journey offers lessons that are practical, timeless, and deeply relevant for every aspiring founder. Department of Industries, Government of Bihar | Startup Bihar | CIMP Business Incubation & Innovation Foundation | IIC CIMP | Prof. (Dr.) Rana Singh LNMI, MDI Alumni | Kumod Kumar | Vivek Kashyap | Rajeev Kumar | Shailendra Kumar | Prabhash ‎.| Jyoti Kumari | Sudarshan Chakravarty | Shivendra Kumar | #StartupBihar #TiEPatna #CIMP #Entrepreneurship #Bootcamp #TheHumanAlgorithm #BiharStartups #Innovation #Founders

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Good morning, India! Yesterday, I talked about this, and today, this. Gemini rolling out free full-length JEE Main mocks sent a clear signal. Last week: SAT. This week: JEE. soon many more Low-level coaching is getting commoditized. Free AI tools are already handling the basics. But let’s be honest, the problem was never content. It was the one-size-fits-all system. Thousands of students. Same static tests. No personalization. No real-time insight. Just hope. That era ends now. We’ve already built and deployed the solution: 1. Adaptive tests for any competitive exam 2. Instant weak-concept detection 3. Personalized learning at scale 4. AI mentors supporting students beyond class 5. This doesn’t replace teachers. It finally lets them teach, not just grade. So, Dear Teachers & Educators, don't fear, but be ready for the future The future of coaching isn’t coming in 5 years. It’s already live. If you run an institute or are an online educator and want to lead, not react, let’s talk. #EdTechIndia #JEE #NEET #UPSC #AI #EducationRevolution

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📊 Decoding Indian Fintech Funding, Multiples & IPOs: Part 3 📊 ❗There's been movement in Indian fintech funding. Raises & upcoming IPO multiples are all < 10x rev x ✅ Easebuzz (PA) raised ~$30M at $200M valuation in Series A led by Bessemer in Apr'25. Their gross rev is ~INR 650 Cr (~$77M). Net rev ~$35M. So at a (net) rev multiple, this is a ~5.7x. Gross revenue multiple is lower at 2.59x. Profitable ✅ Cashfree (PA) closed a ~$53M round in Feb '25 at a ~$700M val. In FY24 revenues were INR 642 Cr (~$76M). The revenues mentioned were stated "from operations" so I'm going to assume this means net revenue. So the (net) rev multiple here is 9.21x ✅ Juspay (Infra) closed ~$60M Series D in Apr '25. FY24 rev = $40M. Valuation not disclosed but target was $1B. But this was before major PA's pulled away from their orchestrator. Multiple could be 23 -25x. In '22 (last raised) they were at ~33x (Val: $440M, Rev: $13M) ✅ Kissht (Lending): Targeting IPO in '25 at ~$1B val. FY24 Rev: ~$202M. Rev x: ~5x. Last raised in '22 ($60M at ~$344M val). Profitable 🌐 For pvt Indian fintechs: 6x - 18 rev x seems to be ideal. (above multiples, global analogues (below) & scaled + pre-IPO (Ex: PhonePe & Groww) 👇 Snapshot 1️⃣ Pinelabs: Val ('24): $5.8B, Rev ('24): $160M, Rev x: 36x 2️⃣ Razorpay: Val ('22): $7.5B, Rev ('24): $305M, Rev x: 24.5x 3️⃣ PhonePe: Val ('23): $12B, Rev ('24): $756M, Rev x: 15.9x 4️⃣ Groww: Val ('21): $3B. In '25 reportedly raising $250M pre-IPO from GIC at ~$7B val, Rev ('24): ~$374M. Rev x: 8 - 18x 5️⃣ M2P: Val ('24): $800M, Rev ('24): $45M, Rev x: 17x 👉 Note: Multiples will correct as companies release FY25 numbers and probably be closer to ~15-20x. Also assuming reported revenues are net revenues. If gross then ideally the multiple should be lower 🌐 Indian public mkt equivalents are on the lower side. Paytm’s mkt cap / revenue: ~7x. Mobikwik is ~7.4x. But Paytm has been struggling since the pmts bank issue and Mobikwik is not a market leader as a PA / UPI App. So this is not a surprise 💡 International equivalents (PA) are: 10x - 25x 🌏 Stripe: FY25 val: $91.5B. In FY22: gross rev of $14.4B. This was ~1.7% of total pmt volume (TPV = $817B). If I do quick math + assumptions: in FY24 TPV was $1T. 1.7% of this is ~$17B (gross rev). Assuming net revenues are ~50% of gross (cashfree gross vs net is ~50%) this is ~$8.5B in net rev & ~10.76x in Rev x 🌏 Adyen: ~14x. Current mkt cap: ~$40B, and FY24 rev (Jan - Dec ‘24) of ~$2.8B. Before tariffs mkt crash, multiple was ~25x (Jan '25) 🌐 So 25x (international analogues) seems to be the upper limit with 8 - 18x being the sweet spot. If you have less mkt share then you should be closer to 8x. If more scaled + mkt leader in then closer to 17-18x ❗ Also because of the tariff mess & investor sentiment, Klarna has paused its IPO. Due to uncertainty it’s possible that upcoming IPO timelines in India also may get affected 🧠 To read the deep dive, check link in the comments

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Startups Raised $134 Mn This Week 22 Deals | 1 M&A Here's Series wise funding details Series B SuperK, a consumer services startup, raised $11.5 Mn in a Series B round from 3STATE Ventures, Mithun Sacheti, Shubman Gill, Blume Ventures, and Xeed Ventures. Series A Netrasemi, a semiconductor startup, raised $12.4 Mn in a Series A round from Zoho Corporation and Unicorn India Ventures. EduFund, a lending tech startup, raised $6 Mn in a Series A round from Cercano Management and MassMutual Ventures. EVeez, an electric MaaS startup, raised $5.4 Mn in a Series A round from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Caret Capital, ThinKuvate, Ev2 Ventures, Barbershop With Shantanu, SailThru Ventures, and ah! Ventures. Enlite Research, a vertical SaaS startup, raised $5.3 Mn in a Series A round from Avaana Capital and Claypond Capital. iTuring.ai, an application layer AI startup, raised $5 Mn in a Series A round from Dallas Venture Capital and Mela Ventures. Hudle, a vertical SaaS startup, raised $2.5 Mn in a Series A round from Sky Impact Capital, Physis Capital, Atrium Venture, Blue Tokai, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Gaurav Kapur. Pre-Series A ANNY, a D2C startup, raised $1.2 Mn in a Pre-Series A round from Atomic Capital. Inbound Aerospace, a spacetech startup, raised $1 Mn in a Pre-Seed round from Speciale Invest and Piper Serica. ApClub, a hyperlocal services startup, raised $231K in a Pre-Seed round from Curefit and Pranay Jivrajka. Seed Kluisz.ai, an application layer AI startup, raised $9.6 Mn in a Seed round from RTP Global, Unicorn India Ventures, Blume Founders Fund, Climber Capital, Ritesh Agarwal, Ritesh Malik, and others. Escape Plan, a D2C startup, raised $5 Mn in a Seed round from Jungle Ventures and Fireside Ventures. Grexa AI, an application layer AI startup, raised $1.8 Mn in a Seed round from Utsav Somani, DeVC, Bharat Founders Fund, Vernalis Capital, and others. Ammunic Systems, a defence tech startup, raised $1.1 Mn in a Seed round from India Accelerator and Finvolve. Plenome , a vertical SaaS startup, raised $752K in a Seed round from Ovington Capital Partners, AADI, and Manish Gandhi. Undisclosed Series Gupshup, a horizontal SaaS startup, raised $60 Mn from Globespan Capital Partners and EvolutionX Debt Capital. SUGAR Cosmetics, a D2C startup, raised $5 Mn from Anicut Capital, Stride Ventures, and L Catterton. Bharatsure, a fintech SaaS startup, raised $694K from Inflection Point Ventures, Capital A, and Atrium Angels. Coluxe Fine Jewellery, a D2C startup, raised an undisclosed amount from Startup Sherpas, Ajai Chowdhry, Tej Kapoor, Sairee Chahal, and others. Roast Foods, a D2C startup, raised an undisclosed amount from Pagariya Exports Pvt Ltd. Magma, a manufacturing solutions startup, raised an undisclosed amount from GVFL Limited. KlugKlug , a marketing agency startup, raised an undisclosed amount from undisclosed investors.

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#Deeptech hai D2C nahi hai- Lot of people operating with a mindset of app product in deeptech. #DeepTech in India: Reality, not rhetoric. India’s deep tech story is neither a failure nor a success. It’s a system in transition — with real strengths and real structural gaps. Let’s look at both, honestly. What’s working (and this matters): • India has world-class scientific talent — IITs, IISc, TIFR, ISRO, DRDO labs produce globally respected research. • Policy intent is real — National missions (quantum, semiconductors, space, defence) are not symbolic anymore. • Early-stage capital and grants do exist — ideation and PoCs are better funded today than a decade ago. • Founders are more ambitious — fewer “me-too apps”, more first-principles problem solving. • Global interest in Indian deep-tech IP is rising — proof that the core science is credible. These are non-trivial achievements. Now the harder part. Where reality diverges from ambition: From 2015–2024, India raised $150B+ in startup funding. <2% went into true deep tech (excluding SaaS AI). That capital mismatch drives everything else. • Most VC funds run 7–8 year cycles; deep tech needs 10–15 years. • Grants fund activity, not markets — <10% of grant-backed projects reach scale. • The real Valley of Death is ₹20–50 Cr (prototype, certification, pilots). Almost no capital exists here. • India lacks manufacturing depth and testbeds — talent cannot compound without infrastructure. • Corporates avoid unproven tech; government procurement avoids failure — demand-side pull is weak. • Exits largely happen overseas — IP, value and control quietly migrate. This isn’t a founder problem. It’s a systems design problem. We are trying to build sovereign deep tech using an app-economy playbook. The real choice India must make: If we want deep-tech leadership, we must prioritize one structural lever: 1️⃣ 15-year patient capital vehicles 2️⃣ Guaranteed pilot procurement (first-buyer risk) 3️⃣ Manufacturing & test infrastructure We cannot do everything at once. But doing none is the costliest option. Deep tech will not reward optimism. It will reward patience, coordination, and uncomfortable decisions. The question is no longer “Can India build deep tech?” It is “Are we willing to build it the way reality demands?” But Loads of power to Indian innovators in deep technologies. Have patience things will favour you folks.

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Kluisz.ai, led by former OYO senior executive Abhinav Sinha, has raised $9.6 million (INR 82.9 crore) in seed funding. The round was led by RTP Global and saw participation from Unicorn India Ventures, Blume Ventures Founders Fund, Climber Capital, and prominent angels. Founded in early 2025, Kluisz.ai is building an open-source, AI-native cloud platform to help enterprises deploy and manage AI and edge computing workloads. Check out the full funding details : https://lnkd.in/gjs3UKNB Team Kluisz Abhinav Sinha | Venkata Surya Tej | Vamshidhar Reddy | Abhijeet Singh | #oyoCOO #OYOemployee #AiStartups #SeedFunding #CloudStartups #FundingUpdates #startupro #startupUPdates

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Boundless Ventures Starts Rs 200 Cr Early-stage Fund To Back AI-native #Startups The fund, raised from Malpani’s #network of friends and family, will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage companies Read the full story on: https://lnkd.in/g4s3KuyK #BoundlessVentures Annurag Batra | Noor Fathima Warsia | Chetan Mehra | Resham Suhail | Navneet Singh

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The $100k H1B Visa: A Speed Bump for Big Tech, a Wall for Startups, and a Welcome Mat for India. The conversation around a potential $100,000 H1B visa cost is causing waves, with many predicting a doom-and-gloom scenario for US companies. But I believe this perspective misses the nuance. This isn't a crisis for everyone; in fact, it might be an unexpected catalyst for innovation where we least expect it. For Big Tech, It's Just the Cost of Admission Let's be candid. For the tech behemoths in Silicon Valley, $100,000 is a rounding error. These companies operate in an environment where access to capital is abundant and senior tech salaries regularly exceed $200,000 per year. In this context, paying a premium to secure world-class, proven talent from India isn't a burden—it's a strategic investment. It's the cost of admission to acquire minds that will build their next multi-billion dollar product. For them, it’s not a barrier; it's a line item in the budget. The Real Squeeze is on Startups The real victim of this high price tag isn't the established giant; it's the bootstrapped startup in a garage. For a fledgling company, $100,000 could represent a significant portion of their seed funding. This exorbitant fee creates an insurmountable wall, preventing them from competing for the same global talent pool as their larger counterparts. It stifles innovation at the grassroots level by limiting a startup's most critical resource: human capital. India's Unintended "Brain Gain" Here's the most compelling part of this story: the unintended consequence for India. For decades, we've talked about the "Brain Drain." This policy could inadvertently reverse it. When the financial barrier to moving abroad becomes this high, many of India's most brilliant engineers, developers, and entrepreneurs may choose to build their dreams at home. This shift could supercharge the Indian startup ecosystem, injecting it with top-tier talent that might have otherwise left. We could be on the precipice of a significant "Brain Gain," where our best and brightest stay and create sovereign value, fueling our own economic engine. This isn't just about keeping talent; it's about concentrating it. This policy, while designed for the US, could have the profound effect of helping India build its own tech giants. What are your thoughts? Is this high H1B cost an accidental blessing for Indian innovation? #H1B #TechTalent #India #Startups #Innovation #FutureOfWork #BrainGain

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10 indian companies that you might not know were yc companies: 1. groww (W18) 2. meesho (S16) 3. razorpay (W15) 4. zepto (W21) 5. orange health labs (S20) 6. khatabook (S18) 7. cashfree payments (S17) 8. lokal (S19) 9. okcredit (S18) 10. innov8 (S16)

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Kusha Kapila's underneat.in just raised $6Million and hit ₹150 Cr ARR in 8 months.   Founded by Kusha Kapila and Vimarsh Razdan with mentor Ghazal Alagh, underneat.in is solving a problem that the ₹1,400 Cr Indian shapewear market completely ignored. While SKIMS normalized shapewear globally, no one owned this space in India. The vision was simple: create shapewear for Indian bodies and climate and launched with $1M seed funding from Fireside Ventures and Ghazal Alagh. The traction speaks for itself. Pre-Series A led by Fireside Ventures. 25,000+ customers served. ₹150 Cr ARR in 8 months. EBITDA-positive from day one. 1.2 lakh+ followers built before launch. Their website crashed on launch day due to overwhelming traffic. What they built solves a real problem. They've cracked product-market fit, community building, and funding & a brand like this needs to reach as many people as possible. But when I looked at their website and their online presence, I saw 2 major opportunities. Problem 1: The website doesn't convert visitors into buyers People are coming to the site but once they land, they get confused. There's no "Buy Now" button on the landing page. The search bar is broken and tucked in a corner where nobody notices it. There's no wishlist option to save products for later. The account signup is disguised as something called "My Member Club" that takes you to a different website entirely, which breaks the flow. Problem 2: They're invisible when people search for solutions When women search for solutions today, they're not just typing into Google. They're asking ChatGPT "what's the best shapewear for Indian women?" They're checking Perplexity for recommendations. They're relying on AI Overviews to give them answers. I tested this. If you search "best shapewear for Indian women" on ChatGPT or Perplexity right now, Underneat doesn't show up. What Underneat needs to scale is- 1. Fix the website: Add clear "Buy Now" buttons. Fix search. Make account creation simple. Guide visitors from landing to checkout without confusion. 2. Build content for search intent: Create pages for "best shapewear for sarees India," "comfortable bodysuits for humid climate," "affordable luxury shapewear India." 3. Own comparison searches: When people search "Underneat vs SKIMS" or "Underneat vs Invogue," Underneat should control that narrative. 4. Create educational content: Answer questions women are asking. "How to choose shapewear for Indian body types." "What to wear under lehengas." 5. Show up in AI search: When someone asks ChatGPT for shapewear recommendations, Underneat should be cited. Underneat is already getting massive traffic. They just need to fix the website so visitors don't leave without buying. Add organic discoverability so women searching for shapewear solutions find Underneat. That's how they can scale to 300 cr. Congrats to Kusha Kapila, Vimarsh Razdan, Ghazal Alagh, and the Underneat team on the raise. 

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India’s boldest startups deserve long-term capital that stays the course. 360 ONE Asset’s ₹500 Cr early-stage VC strategy has been launched, with 4 deals closed across diverse sectors. A core part of our ‘Idea to IPO’ capital stack. Read Abhishek Nag, Senior Fund Manager & Strategy Head, Early-Stage VC, 360 ONE Asset’s interview in Mint here: https://lnkd.in/diBcy86N 360 ONE

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