Harshvardhan Kariwala

A founder who has spent 32 Years building IP-Owned Tech in India's Defense Sector. Ashok Atluri, Founder of Zen Technologies Limited shares a growth story bootstrapped from Hyderabad: -Revenue: ₹60 Cr (FY21) → ₹930 Cr(FY24) -Market cap: 40 Cr (2012-13) → 13000 Cr today -Growth: 400X in 12 years Takeaways from our conversation: 1. India historically imported 65–70% of its defense equipment. Today, defense exports have grown more than 30× over the past decade, with the private sector contributing around 60% of exports. Domestic defense production has increased to ₹1.27 lakh crore, a 174% rise since FY 2014–15. 2. For over two decades, Zen built advanced simulators but struggled to sell them in India because single-vendor bids weren’t accepted. The IDDM policy in 2015 gave preference to IP-owning Indian companies and allocated 75% of the capital acquisition budget to local sourcing. And decades of R&D became a real market worth ₹200 billion. 3. Defense tech startups in India have raised $184 million in VC funding since 2020. Zen’s journey shows that IP-owned Tech built with self-funded R&D can build the most defensible advantage, similar to how Apple captures value through IP rather than manufacturing. 4. Zen’s anti-drone systems were proven in field operations, leading to export inquiries from over 20 countries. This mirrors the broader trend of India’s defense exports growing from ₹1,940 crore (FY14) to ₹21,083 crore (FY24). Field-tested solutions build trust far faster than lab demos or pilot projects. 5. Government fundings are rewarding innovation over manufacturing. Programs like iDEX provide up to ₹10 crore for proven concepts, while DRDO offers ₹50 crore per system under the Technology Development Fund. This shift allows companies to reinvest profits into next-generation R&D. 6. Ashok believes that not all technologies should be patented. Highly secretive or complex innovations can be reverse-engineered if patented. Instead, patent what is obvious to outsiders to protect your competitive edge. 7. Build with a focused approach on Pareto technologies with maximum impact. Instead of chasing every opportunity, Zen concentrated on the 20% of technologies delivering 80% of results, anti-drone systems and simulators. Prioritizing high-leverage areas compounds impact effectively. 8. Time market entry around overlooked gaps: In 2018, drones were a hot topic, but there was little attention on anti-drone systems. Zen entered this gap and was ready when the need became urgent, from regional conflicts to domestic security. Opportunities often lie where others are silent. 9. Create policies around your innovation: Self-funded R&D firms face unique risks that conventional procurement rules often overlook. Zen advocated for new categories rather than adapting breakthrough technologies to unsuitable frameworks, ensuring their innovations could be evaluated on merit. Full Episode https://lnkd.in/gnAFEj3f

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From our PearX S25 cohort, meet Pravāh, the AI-native operating system for the electric grid When Mohak Mangal, Dhruv Suri, and Aman Gupta looked at the strain on the U.S. electric grid, they saw a system pushed to its limits. Exploding demand and unpredictable supply have made blackouts increasingly common. This costs the economy more than $150B a year, a number that could 10x in the next five years. Mohak Mangal and team founded Pravāh to help fix it. Their platform helps utilities and grid operators make real-time decisions on load, generation, and congestion, reducing blackout risks, optimizing power procurement, and bringing much-needed stability to the backbone of modern life. We’re proud to support the Pravāh team as they take on one of the toughest and most important infrastructure challenges of our time.

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Agilitas x Virat Kohli partnership is one of the masterstroke deals I have seen in recent times. Virat invests 40 CR in Agilitas for a 1.94% stake, putting Agilitas’s valuation around 2000 CR. 📈 In turn, Agilitas acquires one8world, making Virat a co-founder and shareholder. They now get two very important growth levers: ⬇️ 1. A powerful manufacturing (via Mochiko Shoes - a 600 CR+ footwear brand that Agilitas acquired in 2008 ), 2. India’s biggest athlete — exclusively aligned. Easily becomes a 4000 CR revenue brand in the next 5 years. Footwear + retail scale requires capital — but this partnership compresses customer acquisition, product cycles, and brand-building like few others. Even Virat said in his podcast with Abhishek Ganguly, the co-founder of Agilitas that, “I didn’t want a brand deal… I wanted to build something that outlives me.” And Abhishek said something even beautiful - “An ambition to build from India but be globally relevant.” This isn’t marketing. This is legacy building with shared skin in the game. And that is how startups work - shared ambition with one goal (to make the company big) and food (read stake) in the table for everyone! A company that can be built in the long term with culture, capital, and conviction aligned. This might be the first time in India, where an athlete joins hands with a sport company to re-imagine and build the sport ecosystem of India - truly revolutionalising the game with a clear vision. 🙌

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🚨 Easebuzz raises $30M in series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners With over $30B GTV processed in FY25 and revenue more than doubling to ₹650 Cr, this digital payments and vertical SaaS powerhouse is scaling fast—and profitably from day one. From powering UPI Soundboxes to streamlining payments in sectors like education, real estate, and BFSI, Easebuzz is revolutionizing how India pays. With RBI’s final nod as a payment aggregator and global ambitions brewing, this startup is buzzing louder than ever! Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gUCGtQvW By Sayan Sen #StartupFunding #Easebuzz #FintechIndia #SaaS #DigitalPayments #RBI #SeriesA #IndianStartups #YourStory

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At Atomic Capital, we are committed to backing exceptional founders building for the next wave of India’s consumption story. The country’s consumer market is expected to more than double by 2030, reaching over $4 trillion, with fashion emerging as one of the fastest-growing categories. By 2030, India’s apparel market is projected to cross $125 billion, driven by a rising middle class, increased digital adoption, and evolving consumer preferences. Fashion, particularly women's apparel, will play a significant role in this growth. Despite being a highly competitive category, we believe there's still white space for brands that combine customer insight, product excellence, and operational efficiency. We are incredibly excited to announce our investment in ANNY. From our very first interaction with the founding team, we felt there was strong alignment in vision, strategy, and focus on building a lean, sustainable, and scalable business. Here's why we chose to partner with them: 1. Aligned Operating Philosophy: The founding team - Japjot, Aveen, and Rahul, shares our belief in building a capital-efficient brand. They focus on solving scale challenges with systems, data, and discipline—not by burning cash. From day one, they valued our partnership beyond just the capital contribution. 2. Distinctive Product Supply: Anny excels at the intersection of freshness × fabric × fit. Thanks to rigorous efforts in curation and sizing, Anny has achieved some of the lowest return and cancellation rates we’ve seen in the category. 3. Lean Inventory Model: The team has cracked a unique approach to managing inventory. Their system allows for timely sourcing of new designs that often become hero products—ensuring working capital efficiency while minimizing stockouts and lost sales. 4. High Consumer Love: With 100% of revenue coming through their own website and a substantial share from repeat customers, the brand has cultivated a deep and loyal customer base. 5. Efficient Acquisition Strategy: Anny has built a robust content engine, helping consumers visualize style and fit on real people. This “real-world relatability” has significantly improved conversion and reduced acquisition costs. 6. A Complementary Team: The founding team brings the perfect blend of design and curation, finance and analytics, and technology—a necessary trifecta to scale a modern, digitally native apparel brand. The founder-market fit here is strong and clear. 7. Strong Revenue Momentum: The team has scaled 7x in 12 months. Consistent growth, increasing repeats, and strong unit economics are a testament to the brand's product-market fit and sharp execution. In our experience, operational discipline, new launch velocity, a data-driven approach, and sharp storytelling can collectively build an enduring brand in Fashion. We believe the Anny team is uniquely positioned to do just that. Atomic Capital Nikhil Patil Manish Jain #ConsumerBrands #Fashion #D2C #IndiaConsumption #AtomicCapital

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For this Fintech Leaders episode, I sat down with Chen Amit, CEO and Founder of Tipalti, a global fintech platform that processes billions in payments globally and has achieved a remarkable 99% gross revenue retention rate by focusing on an often-overlooked segment: companies with 100 to 1,000 employees. With licenses across 50+ jurisdictions and a clear path to capturing significant market share of what Chen describes as a $100 billion opportunity, Tipalti is very well positioned to continue growing fast. In this conversation, Chen shares insights on everything from the art of saying no to customers to building moats that AI can't replicate. https://bit.ly/4kAWicT

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𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 $𝟯𝟬 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱! • Snabbit is planning to raise $30 million at a valuation of $172 million in the Series C round led by Bertelsmann India Investments along with Lightspeed Venture Partners, Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners . • Recently, Snabbit raised $19 million at an $80 million valuation in the Series B round and achieved 92 crores in revenue as of October 2025 which 48000x revenue growth. • Snabbit connects households with trained professionals for services like cleaning, dishwashing and laundry in 10 minutes and is competing directly with Pronto, Urban Company. • These companies operate on a quick commerce model just like Zepto, Blinkit, Instamart and the raised funds will be utilized for training professionals and working capital. 𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗱... Entrackr Inc42 Media The Economic Times The Times Of India Indian Startup News Aayush Agarwal Flipkart Amazon #Snabbit #Pronto #QuickCommerce #Zepto #Blinkit #Flipkart

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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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RBI's Digital Lending Directions 2025, released on May 8, 2025, set a new benchmark for transparency and borrower protection in India's digital lending ecosystem. Here are the key changes and their impact as I see: 1️⃣ Regulated Entity (RE)–Lending Service Provider (LSP) Arrangements with Multiple Lenders (Para 6 | Effective Nov 1, 2025) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: LSPs must display a digital view of all loan offers from multiple REs, including unmatched lenders’ names, with details like APR, loan amount, and KFS links. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Enhances borrower choice and transparency but increases product development/operations and compliance costs on LSPs in the near term. 2️⃣ Reporting Digital Lending Applications (DLA) to RBI (Para 17 | Effective Jun 15, 2025) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: REs must report all DLAs (own or LSP-operated) on RBI’s CIMS portal, certified by the Chief Compliance Officer, with updates for new/ceased DLAs. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Creates a public DLA directory, boosting transparency but adding reporting obligations. Missteps in certification could lead to regulatory scrutiny, urging REs to strengthen compliance frameworks. 3️⃣ Enhanced Due Diligence for LSPs (Para 5) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: REs must conduct thorough due diligence on LSPs’ technical capabilities, data privacy, and regulatory compliance before agreements. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: This strengthens risk management, and only serious LSPs will likely prevail, thereby making this a customer-centric and responsible market. 4️⃣ Data Storage in India (Para 13) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: All data must be stored in India; overseas processing data must return within 24 hours. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Ensures data sovereignty but increases infrastructure costs for REs/LSPs with global operations. 5️⃣ DLG Cap and Structure (Paras 23, 21) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: DLG continues to be capped at 5% of disbursed portfolio; contracts must specify cover extent, form, and invocation timeline. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Limits REs’ risk exposure and will deter smaller LSPs from offering DLG, which may be seen as dissuading smaller fintech companies, especially those where capital and portfolio risk management capabilities are not mature. 6️⃣ Disclosure of Recovery Agents (Para 8) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: REs must notify borrowers of recovery agent details via email/SMS before contact. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Enhances borrower safety but requires RE–LSP to streamline communication systems for compliance. These changes signal RBI’s push for a safer, more transparent digital lending landscape that balances innovation with consumer protection. REs and LSPs must act swiftly to align by November 2025 and June 2025 deadlines. #DigitalLending #RBI #Fintech #Banking #NBFC

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Covid era money printing resulted in mega VC funds and bad venture economics. A lot of this is getting rolled back and will result in a brutal few years for the entire venture ecosystem. Here are 8 hard truths about where the market is headed and what it means for your startup. 1. Quantitative easing -> Rise of Mega funds - Covid era quantitative easing gave rise to cheap liquidity and rise of mega funds.  - Billion+ dollar funds went from 11 (2016) to 53 (2022) 2. Mega Funds -> Perverse economics - A 2% management fee on a billion dollar funds ($20M+ annual salary) likely created a bias towards AUM (asset under management) from DPI (distribution of paid in capital) 3. Mega Funds -> Inflated Valuations - Large funds resulted in massive investments & valuations  - Median series B pre money went from $80M (2019) to $260M (2022) - $500M series C rounds 4. Inflated Valuations -> Overhiring - 2019-2022: median VC‑backed tech start‑ups doubled FTEs and payroll  - 2023-2025: layoffs exceeded 300K amongst 1500 venture backed companies - Expect further 10%-15% reduction as boards mandate <1.5x burn multiples 5. Megafunds -> Unfortunate Founder Conditioning - Founders praised for larger burn and bigger checks not margins - Burn multiples > 3x becomes normal 6. Inflated Valuations -> Stalls M&A (2025) - While public SaaS multiples are 6x-8x ARR, late stage privates are still at 15x - Checks deployed in 2 years (2022) will take over 10 years to DPI - Almost no IPO in sight 7. Stalled M&A -> Shake Out (2025-2027) - Zombie funds: 30%+ of 2022 funds fail to raise follow ons - Board demands path to profit within 18 months - LPs demand distribution before follow on investments - Down rounds, repricing and roll ups becoming standard. Not good. 8. AI ventures -> Shrinking fund economics - AI is uncovering new and explosive growth opportunities - However, many AI ventures rocket to prominence but spawn a dozen clones in no time leading to a slowdown in growth  - Many AI ventures are forcing series A GPs to pay for <10% ownership or sit out forcing shrinking fund economics CONCLUSION Excess money printing led to risky investments disguised as “innovation premiums” We are going to see a purge and a reset Over capitalized funds will be forced to shrink or merge, bringing capital discipline and genuine value creation back into fashion While this illusion is breaking - Venture and fundraising isn’t dead by any means. It is just becoming healthier, more capital efficient and disciplined. Ventures that create genuine value will continue to get higher valuations, now more than ever.

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Grateful to join Shripati Acharya and the Prime Ventures Podcast to discuss Uniphore’s journey and what it really takes to bring agentic AI into production at the world’s largest businesses. We covered a few themes that keep coming up with CIOs and business leaders I speak with: what industrializing AI looks like beyond pilots, why a horizontal enterprise platform (data, models, security, agents) is essential for scaling responsibly, and the challenge of making AI agents more deterministic through architecture, guardrails, and workflow design. I also shared why small, fine-tuned models can be the right approach for many business use cases, balancing accuracy, control, and cost at scale. At the center of this is the Uniphore Business AI Cloud: an end-to-end platform that helps businesses bring their data together, fine-tune models, and build and deploy AI agents with the security and sovereignty large organizations require. And, it’s increasingly enabled by a strong ecosystem of strategic partners across compute, data, and cloud, working together to help customers move from experimentation to measurable outcomes. I’m confident the next chapter of Business AI will be defined by disciplined execution and real impact at scale. Thank you Shripati for a thoughtful conversation. Let’s do it again soon. #BusinessAI

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Codeyoung, an edtech startup has raised $5 million (Rs 44.4 Cr) in its Series A funding round, led by Blue Tokai-backer 12 Flags Group and Enzia Ventures. The round was an equal mix of primary and secondary funding, with the secondary portion allowing early investor Guild Capital to exit. The startup will use the new funds to grow in its current international markets, especially in the US and Canada. Some of the money will also go toward building AI-based personalization tools and adding new learning categories. 🔗 Read full article link in comment Shailendra Dhakad | Rupika Taneja #codeyoung #edtech #funding #startupnews #growth

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Peeko, founded by ex-Leap executives, raised $3.2M in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners. Angel investors including Lightspeed's Maninder Gulati and Tracxn's Abhishek Goyal also participated. The funds will enhance product assortment, logistics, and team growth. Peeko, cofounded by Chetan Sharma, Abhijit Gairola, and Vivek Khetan, aims for 60-minute delivery of baby care products. Currently in beta in Bengaluru, Peeko plans to expand dark stores and SKUs. They intend to launch an Android app and partner with babycare brands, amidst India's booming quick commerce market projected to reach $40B by 2030. #BabyCare #QuickCommerce #StartupFunding #DeccanFounders #Peeko #StellarisVenturePartners

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