Deep Tech Musings

Arjun is the Founding Partner at Speciale Invest, a seed venture capital fund focused on deep science & tech startups in India, the USA, and Israel. He is passionate about working with exceptional entrepreneurs building emerging tech start-ups in the super early stage. His core expertise has been in product development/management, marketing strategy, org building, fundraising, and finance for over a decade.

Prior to Speciale Invest, he spent over 15 years in the technology and Internet start-up ecosystem in India. He started his career with Yahoo! and later joined Ibibo as Product Manager. The entrepreneurial bug led him to start an Edutech startup and also a travel tech startup, Travelyaari. He has led tech and product teams, and strategy and fundraising at all phases of a start-up lifecycle. At Travelyaari, he built the company to achieve revenues of $40mn and raised $12mn in seed, Series A, and Series B funding.

On today’s episode, we discuss

• The Founding Story of Speciale Invest & Why It's One of the Best Places for Deep Tech Startups

• Understanding VC Firm Structure

• Skills and Abilities to Transition into a VC Role

• The Role of Networking & Mentorship in Advancing Your Career in VC

• Future Trends in the VC Industry and the Deep Tech Startup Ecosystem

Dr. Geetha Manjunath is the Founder, CEO, and CTO of NIRAMAI Health Analytix, and has led the company to develop a breakthrough AI solution for detecting early-stage breast cancer in a non-invasive radiation-free manner. Geetha holds a Ph.D. from IISc and management education from Kellogg’s Chicago. She comes with over 25 years of experience in IT innovation. She has proposed and led multiple AI projects at Xerox Research and Hewlett Packard India. Geetha has received many international and national recognition for her innovations and entrepreneurial work, including CSI Gold Medal, BIRAC WinER Award 2018, and is also on the Forbes List of Top 20 Self-Made Women 2020. She was declared the winner of Women Health Innovation Showcase Asia, Accenture Vahini Innovator of the Year Award from Economic Times, and Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 by BioSpectrum India. Geetha is also an inventor of 20 US patents and more pending grants.

On today’s episode, we discuss,

• Unveiling the Genesis of Niramai: A Pioneering Journey

• Getting Early Adopters and Gauging Business Model Viability

• Mastering the Art of AI Product Development and Fostering Clinician Trust

• Navigating the Financial Challenges of Launching an AI Startup

• Going Beyond Borders: Internationalizing Your Startup

• The Horizon of AI in Healthcare: A Glimpse into the Future

Manish Singhal is a technologist-turned-entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist who aspires to help place India on the global DeepTech innovation map through his work at pi Ventures. With over 31 years of experience spanning diverse fields, including the development of cutting-edge technology products on a global scale, mentoring startups, investing in them, and establishing a deep tech venture fund, he brings a wealth of expertise to the table.

Manish has played a pivotal role in advancing technology in India. He contributed significantly to the development of GPS systems for the Indian Army. Furthermore, he made substantial contributions to the MPEG 4 standard, authoring a chapter that played a crucial role in its commercialization, revolutionizing digital media and communication technologies.

Rob stands at the intersection of AI innovation and business strategy. He is the insightful author of the 'Investing in AI' newsletter, providing invaluable perspectives to investors and tech enthusiasts alike. He previously co-founded Backupify, then Talla, then was a General Partner at PJC. Rob has an intricate understanding of the startup ecosystem and the role of AI in shaping the future of industries. Currently steering the ship as the CEO of BrandGuard.ai, an AI tool to protect & boost your brand, and also a Partner at the AI Operator's Fund, which makes pre-seed investments in AI startups. He continues to be a driving force in AI's integration into the business world. He is an angel in 100+ early-stage companies, mostly AI companies. On the show we discuss,

• How Rob Comes Up With Amazing Content for 20 Years

• Synthetic Users and Why Real User Feedback Matters Less in an AI World

• Why Horizontal Will LLMs Will Loose

• The New Age Customer Acquisition Channels and Achieving “Agent-Market Fit”

• Why AI Will Kill Most Forms of Long-Term Competitive Advantage

Avnish is an innovator, strategist, and technology evangelist with 30 years of extensive experience and track record around market making, growth hacking, corporate innovation, digital transformation, and leadership development for Top 500 Fortune clients in both mature and emerging markets. In his current role as MD of Accenture Ventures, he is responsible for leading open innovation programs, building a deal pipeline for investments and acquisitions, academia partnerships, and originating deals in selected segments and accounts.

Sonal is currently VP at 3one4 Capital, an early-stage VC which counts in its portfolio the likes of Licious, Jupiter, Darwinbox, and more! 3one4’s exponential growth has been driven by partnering with generational companies to transform market segments across the country. Sonal has built systems and processes at 3one4 Capital to achieve strong coverage without compromising founder or referrer experience, all while maintaining a lean investments team. In addition to managing routine investment workflows, Sonal looks at fintech, enterprise software, and deep-tech focus areas for the firm. He has been an integral part of the firm’s investments in several category-defining companies.

Ankit is the founder of ZedBee Technologies, an IIT-Madras incubated startup that has developed next-generation solutions for energy management in buildings & industries. Their state-of-the-art systems are built around the Internet of Things technology and advanced machine learning algorithms hosted in the cloud.

For more details and an episode summary click here - bit.ly/dtm-az

In the episode we discuss,

(0:28) Ankit’s personal journey into entrepreneurship

(6:53) "The Impact of Professor Ashok (Founder IITM, Research Park) on Indian Entrepreneurs: How Has He Inspired and Motivated Them?"

(15:15) Understanding the End User and Market Scope

(15:46) Potential savings for commercial setup: Past experiences and numbers.

(18:52) Raising a Successful Pre Seed Round: Strategies and Tips

(21:13) Identifying Early Customers for Idea Validation

(22:36) Assessing Technical Feasibility in the Early Stages of Product Development

(24:48) Assessment and Confidence in Developing Solutions: Overcoming Challenges

(26:04) Main technologies in the product

(27:29) Focus on Patents

(27:51) Building Moats in Startups

(31:14) Overcoming Initial Activation Hurdles to Gain Client Trust and Adoption

(35:13) Future Market Forces in the Industry: Technology, Consumer Behavior, and Regulations

(38:39) Advice for Entrepreneurs: Taking an IoT AIML Startup from Zero to One

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We've reached our 50th episode of the podcast! Thanks to all the listeners, the guests & the thriving Indian deep-tech community for their continuous love & support.

Today's episode is a very special one, not only because its our 50th but more so because of our guest. Arpit is a passionate advocate for deep tech transforming our world. With a strong background in startups and technology commercialization, he leads Deep Tech investments at Blume Ventures for a decade now with particular focus on ClimateTech, Electric Mobility, HealthTech, and Logistics. Companies he manages include Spinny, Cashify, Euler Motors, Battery Smart, BeatO and THB. He has been actively involved with promotion of startups since 2006 with prior engagements across Headstart Network and TLabs.

In this episode, explore the Indian deep tech ecosystem with Arpit as he delves into its history, the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, survival in the industry, government’s role, shifting investor trends, and Blume's focus on deep tech.

In this episode, we have an exciting guest, Nihal, the co-founder of Myoworks, a biotech startup that is shaping the future of the cultivated meat industry. Nihal shares the founding story of Myoworks and how they adapted 3D printing to create something more innovative and cutting-edge for the cultivated meat industry. He talks about the team's journey in creating a novel scaffolding technology for the industry. We also touch upon the benefits of cultivated meat as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional farm meat. Lastly, Nihal mentions the team's success in securing funding through BIRAC and the SINE incubator at IIT Bombay. So, let's dive in and learn how Myoworks is revolutionizing the food industry!

For episode transcript, bullet point summary, and more – bit.ly/dtm-nm

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Neeraj is an industry veteran with more than two decades of experience in leading Strategy, GTM, and Operations globally for Fortune 500 companies. In this episode, he shares his journey from working in leading corporates to becoming an angel investor in startups and eventually founding Xscale. He talks about his motivation for creating the company, which is aimed at helping startups scale their businesses and overcome the common struggles of scaling, selling, and monetization. Neeraj shares his insights on deep tech and highlights some of Xscale's contributions to helping startups go from zero to one. Neeraj also provides his top five pieces of advice for entrepreneurs looking to take their deep tech startups from zero to one. The episode concludes with a discussion on the importance of GTM strategy for deep tech startups and how to use a template-based approach for startup GTM motions.

For episode transcript, bullet point summary, and more – bit.ly/dtm-xscale

In this episode we discuss,

(00:27) Founding story of Xscale and its motivation

(03:24) What is the current team composition of Xscale?

(05:05) How does Neeraj define Deep Tech?

(06:32) Xscale’s contributions in helping startups go from zero to one

(13:03) Neeraj’s top 5 advice to entrepreneurs who want to take their deep tech startups from zero to one

(21:30) Can GTM motion be the moat for deep tech products?

(25:18) How does Template based approach of GTM change the scenario?

(31:25) Future initiatives of Xscale in deep tech space

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Dr. Ritu Verma is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Ankur Capital – an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in digital & deep science technology startups. Prior to starting Ankur Capital, Ritu ran Truven, an advisory firm for venture funds looking at investments in India and SE Asia. She is passionate about bringing innovation from the lab to the market and did that for over a decade across different roles at Philips and Unilever across the globe. 

In this episode, Ritu shares her insights into the world of deep science technologies, including synthetic biology, battery chemistry, bioinformatics, and materials. She also discusses Ankur Capital's investment philosophy and how they support deep science entrepreneurs in India. Ritu highlights the importance of user research and the need to bring in business, market, and customer skills to test whether an innovation is a solution to a customer's problem. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, or an investor interested in deep science startups, this podcast is a must-listen. Tune in to gain valuable insights into the world of deep science technologies and how early-stage startups can set themselves up for success.

Find the episode summary, transcript & more here - bit.ly/dtm-ritu

Show Notes:

(00:46) What motivated founding Ankur Capital's deep science technologies vertical?

(02:32) How does Ritu Verma define deep science?

(05:30) Portfolio startups that Ankur Capital has invested in, the problems they solve & their IPs

(09:30) What makes Ankur Capital one of the best places for deep science startups?

(11:15) Ritu’s top 3 advice to entrepreneurs looking to take their deep science startup from zero to one.

(14:15) How can deep science startups de-risk their long gestation periods?

(16:50) How can startup founders assess scalability potential early on?

(19:50) Ritu’s viewpoint on the prevalence and importance of doing user research in the deep tech industry.

(24:05) How to build moats in deep science products? What is ring-fencing?

(26:55) Future initiatives of Ankur Capital in deep science space.

(27:55) Future opportunities in deep science space that startups should capitalize on

— Where to find Dr. Ritu Verma:

Are you ready to be inspired and gain valuable insights from one of the most successful and accomplished evangelists in the Indian startup ecosystem? On this episode of our show, we have the privilege of sitting down with Ravi, a true trailblazer who has overcome incredible obstacles to achieve success in his career. From growing up in a Naxalite-affected area in India to holding key roles at Venture Catalyst, Shark Tank, and the private office of the Royal Family of Dubai, Ravi has a wealth of experience to share around those roles. 

You'll also hear about his 2-month-long international startup tour spanning 11 countries, and the insider tips he has to offer on the best things to eat in those countries! But that's not all, Ravi also shares his expert advice for entrepreneurs looking to raise funds and what to look for in investors. With over 2000 startup events under his belt, he's also got big plans for a first-of-its-kind Startup Angel event later this year in Abu Dhabi and he's going to give us a sneak peek into what we can expect. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the most accomplished and successful evangelists in the Indian startup ecosystem. Tune in now!

Find the chat transcript and summary at - https://pronojits.substack.com/p/dtm-e45-ravi-ranjan-entrepreneurship

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Padma Shree Ashok Jhunjhunwala is the founder and president of IIT Madras (IITM) Research Park & Incubation Cell (IC), one of India’s foremost Deep Tech startup hubs. As of recording, IITM IC has incubated 280+ startups generating Rs 1620+cr revenue at a valuation of Rs 33000cr (US 4.1B), and it’s ever-growing. Some of its marquee startups are Ather, Uniphore, Stellapps, MediBuddy, and many more. Prof Ashok is a strong proponent of entrepreneurship and has motivated & guided 1000s of students & young entrepreneurs over the years towards the same. He was also the former principal advisor to the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India.

In this episode, Dr. Ashok takes us back to the India of the 90s to highlight how some trends that motivated him toward the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He talks about inspiring other entrepreneurs not just to believe but also to act on the power of ideas by building things. He highlights the DNA of IITM IC and how it’s a startup in its own right. He opines on the future of the deep tech industry and shares his advice for entrepreneurs just starting out. With his wealth of experience comes a treasure trove of insights. Surely not to be missed.

In this episode we discuss:

(00:01:39) How has India's entrepreneurship and startup scene changed from the 1980s and 1990s to the present day?

(00:12:43) How does Dr. Ashok define deep tech?

(00:14:30) What makes IITM Incubation Cell an ideal place for a deep tech startup?

(00:20:33) How does Incubation Cell help someone grow once they are accepted into the system?

(00:23:28) Some marquee startups to come out of IITM IC

(00:25:10) Opinions on some of the initiatives that the ITM Incubation Cell is planning for the future.

(00:26:40) What does Dr. Ashok think about the general prospects of the deep tech industry?

(00:27:05) What are some of the future trends he sees?

(00:29:27) Dr. Ashok's top three pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs just starting out

— Where to find us:

Jitesh, is the founder and CTO of Ishitva Robotic Systems, which is building futuristic automated Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) that can sort different types of waste at high volume for Indian Cities. Automated MRF solutions incorporate AI Vision Systems, Mechanical Robots, High-Speed Sorting, and Live Analytics of Waste Streams which Jitesh has developed at Ishitva over the last 6 years. Their clients include Municipal Solid Waste Companies, Plastic Aggregators, and different types of companies who recycle and create pellets, paper, cardboard, etc. Ishitva's vision is to provide automation sorting solutions for all types of waste like Plastic, Paper, Cardboard, Glass, Metal, Rubber, etc. Before Ishitva, Jitesh had 12+ years of experience in the software industry and worked for Fortune 500 Companies building products and solutions across the globe.

In today’s episode, we talk about how Ishitva can act as a catalyst for the “waste circular economy” by providing a high volume of materials to recyclers. Jitesh highlights how to evaluate the technical viability of AI/ML solutions and how to make clients trust AI. He further ruminates about the prospects of making his vision system available as a service. We end up with Jitesh’s advice on making it from idea to traction in deep tech and how the technology space in Gujarat is moving ahead in Automation R&D.

In this episode, we cover

(00:01:02) What inspired Jitesh to get into entrepreneurship?

(00:05:20) What is the problem Ishitva solving? What is the circular economy?

(00:08:24) Ishitva’s traction till now and major clients

(00:10:05) Ishitva’s hardware and software technology stack

(00:15:02) How to assess the technical viability of an AI/ML solution early on?

(00:20:43) How to make consumers or clients accept and trust an AI product?

(00:23:09) How can deep tech startups create competitive moats?

(00:28:44) Like large language models, can Ishitva’s vision system be offered as a service as well?

(00:31:00) What are Jitesh's top suggestions for launching a deep-tech startup or product?

(00:33:48) Jitesh's viewpoint on the developments taking place in Gujarat in technology domain

Where to find us?

Swapnil Jain has a vast experience of 17+ years and is a proficient all-rounder when it comes to Product Evangelism, Project Management, Seed Investments, Mentorship, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Speaker, and Tech-Evangelism. He is currently a founder and CEO at ORAI Robotics, an AI-Powered Robotic Virtual Assistant for Education, Automobile, Healthcare and other industries. It serves as a "Performance Amplifier" for generating and qualifying quality leads and delivering higher strike rates to customers automatically 24x7.

With his rich niche experience in transforming business ideas into technology-driven business models, his entire focus is on evangelizing Digital Transformation with the power of AI/ML and RPA. In the era of Artificial Intelligence and Voice-First trends, his true experience lies in formulating digital business strategies that are matched with technological implementation to collaborate and compete in a new market.

In this episode, we cover

(00:00:29) Swapnil’s super interesting back-story and what motivated him towards entrepreneurship.

(00:09:42) What are the major products of ORAI?

(00:13:40) Is conversational AI a crowded space? Should that be a barrier for new entrants?

(00:16:26) Did ORAI take a horizontal or vertical product approach and why?

(00:18:19) What were the initial activation hurdles that ORAI faced to make clients trust and try their product?

(00:19:51) What are the major technologies at play in the product?

(00:21:58) What are the competitive moats for ORAI?

(00:26:20) Swapnil’s thoughts on human-like interaction of AI conversation agents

(00:31:09) Swapnil’s advice to fellow entrepreneurs to make their journey from zero to one

(00:36:15) What have been some unexpected uses of their product?

Where to find us

Nishanth Raja, is a researcher turned entrepreneur with expertise in Ultrasonic Guided wave, Hi-Temp Sensor, NDE, Data analysis and interpretation. He is the co-founder of XYMA Analytics, a Deep tech startup on a mission to enhance industrial automation using IoT-enabled Ultrasonic Waveguide sensors to address the critical pain point in industries with High-Temperature applications.

In this episode, we cover

(00:00:39) Backdrop on Xyma’s Aegis Graham Bell innovation award

(00:02:08) What motivated Nishanth to start Xyma Analytics?

(00:05:30) What is the core problem that Xyma is looking to solve? And what are the products that it has come up with to solve that problem?

(00:09:57) What were some of the initial activation hurdles Nishanth faced to make his clients trust and try his product?

(00:10:21) How did Nishanth overcome those hurdles?

(00:11:59) What are the major technologies at play, and what software layer is on top of it?

(00:15:47) After gaining some good traction, how has Nishanth’s team gone about building moats into this product?

(00:16:53) What advice does Nishanth give to fellow entrepreneurs who are looking to make it zero to one in this field?

(00:19:06) How did Xyma go about defining its customer segment in the initial days? And how did it change over the years?

(00:21:16) What are some of the biggest challenges right now for Xyma?

(00:23:20) How does Nishanth see the role of AI contributing towards the growth of Xyma?

Where to find us?

Divanshu is the co-founder of Solinas, which is a deep-tech IITM incubated start-up that develops robotic & AI solutions for the pipeline and sanitation industry, solving problems of water leakages and eliminating manual scavenging. Their products organize the management of pipelines and tanks by providing efficient solutions and data-driven decision-making for their customers. Solinas has won multiple awards in its journey till now.

Divanshu is a recent mechanical engineering graduate from IITM and a young entrepreneur who is passionate about solving complex problems using first-principle thinking. He firmly believes in the power of technology and is constantly looking to amplify the impact of social enterprises through that. He was one of the only 2 students to receive both an academic and a nonacademic institute prize while graduating in 2019. He is a regular speaker at events organized by WEF, TFI, IIT Madras, BITS, and others

In this episode, Divanshu shares his story on building his startup and the products that Solinas is building. He gives his thought on the predicament of a robot replacing a human and how he views the situation. He shares how Solinas has structured itself to build products that are more pull than push products. Finally, he shares insights on how Solinas intends to build moats and his advice to entrepreneurs in the same field looking to make it from zero to one.

Harshit is the founder & CEO of Intugine Technologies, an end-to-end multimodal supply chain visibility platform. Intugine's real-time logistics visibility platform brings together disjoint systems and helps businesses optimize their logistics operation. Some of India’s renowned brands like flipkart, myntra, LG, Diageo, Mahindra, Ford, etc use Intugine's platform to negotiate volatility and uncertainties in their supply chain.

In this episode, Harshit shares his motivation to start Intugine and the discoveries that led his team to successfully pivot from B2C to B2B segment. He shares the various resolutions of location data being enabled by Intugine and reveals how is the product embedded into logistic supply chain. He talks about the 3 layers of location intelligence and how is the predictive layer acceptance on the field. Harshit give his advice to fellow entrepreneurs in logistic industry in making it from zero to one and shares his views on building moats in technology startups.

Vijay Krishna (VK) is the co-Founder of WEGOT Utility Solutions which aims to reduce the water consumption by bringing about a much need behavioral change in the way people use water. WEGOT’s IoT based Smart Water Meters help manage water consumption and help save up to 50% of water in buildings.

In this episode, VK shares details about WEGOT’s product and features, and the benefit their users can enjoy and consequently how the product has shifted human behavior. He gives his view on how he overcome hurdles and how he build a product in cutthroat IOT technology domain. VK also gives advice to entrepreneurs in the IOT industry and shares his thought on how to build moats in the same.

Allon Hammer, is the head of Data at VI which is the World Leading Enterprise-AI for Digital Health. VI leverages powerful tech to help people around the world stay healthy and active. Their powerful AI software helps digital health enterprises increase member engagement, retention, and LTV. VI's market-leading solution reaches over 30 million members daily. 

Previously, Allon has been a Data Scientist and researcher with hands on experience in Deep learning, Machine Learning, NLP, Reinforcement Learning, Big Data technologies in cloud-based environments, Python and SQL

In this episode, Allon shares how they are providing AI-as-a-Service for health and wellness enterprises, to increase member engagement, retention, and LTV. He shares his thoughts on being AI first in strategy, on democratizing data science & using feature stores, his advise to entrepreneurs looking to build AI startups, how to assess technical feasibility in AI and build competitive differentiations.

Chirag is the Managing Partner of 8X Ventures and has 15+ years of experience in venture capital, startup mentoring, strategy design, strategy execution, organisation design, investment banking and business analytics. Through 8X Ventures he is investing and supporting DeepTech startups that will fundamentally change how industries and economies operate while striving to build a profitable, sustainable business in the long-term. 

In this episode, Chirag shares his views on Deep tech domain, why 8X Ventures chose to go ahead with this domain, his advice to startups in Deep tech on things to avoid, what value 8X Ventures provides to its portfolio startups. 

Dhinesh is the founder of Fabheads, which manufacturers Asia's first & only continuous fiber 3D printers, and in their journey have won multiple awards from the Government of India, DRDO, CII & others. In this episode, Dhinesh gives us an overview of Fabheads, the problem its solving, its features, and other details. He then highlights what he thinks are the top 3 things that technology hardware startups should focus on to enable their journey from zero to one. We end the discussion with what Dhinesh think is in the future for the 3D printing industry. 

Himanshu is the co-founder of Devnagri, an AI-powered human translation platform. Devnagri exists to use technology and humans to translate the data available over the internet. It helps businesses and the government to reach real people who are not part of the internet because of the language barrier. 

In this episode, Himanshu gives us an overview of Devnagri, the problem its solving, its features, and other details. He then highlights what he thinks are the top 3 things that founders should focus on to enable their journey from zero to one.

Arjun is the co-founder of Courseplay, an AI-powered employee experience platform for 360-degree employee growth. Courseplay focuses on offering on-the-job, social, and formal learning to the workplace. Large enterprises and fast-growing startups are managing their entire skill and talent development lifecycle on Cousrseplay's unified talent experience platform and mobile apps. 

On the show Arjun gives us an overview of Courseplay, the problem its solving, its features and other details. He then highlights what he thinks are the top 3 things that founders should focus on to enable their journey from zero to one and finally he ends with what he thinks creates a differentiation in today's AI world. 

Ankur Mittal has 20+ years of experience with Fortune 50 companies & is a prominent figure in the Indian startup ecosystem. He co-founded Inflection Point Ventures in 2019 with the bold mission to democratize startup investing in India. On the show, he discusses the genesis & motivation behind IPV, shares his viewpoint on the future of democratized startup investing, future industries to look out for, how India will be a leading startup destination in the world, and many more. 

Raghav Gupta is a co-founder at Nymble where he is on a mission to put a Private Chef in every kitchen by building countertop cooking robots. Nymble is backed by 021 Capital, Waterbridge Ventures, and was most recently part of the Accel Atoms program. In the show, Raghav touches upon his journey of building Nymble starting from the early days of problem discovery, finding the right market, developing a prototype, assessing the technical feasibility, and many other such aspects of building a deep tech product.

Timothy Porter is the CTO of Modtech Labs, which is on a mission to simplify visual content creation into one automated pipeline. It provides mobile+cloud-based software that makes 3D in minutes and is a revolutionary way of creating 3D content. On the show, Tim highlights his personal journey of more than a decade-spanning major brands like Gameloft, Sony, Disney, Two Bit Circus, and more. Bringing his expertise to a forward-thinking market on the edge of technology has expanded his ability to pioneer uncharted territory in AR, VR, MR, XR, IoT, AI, Networking, Volumetric Video, and more. Modtech Labs is his entrepreneurial endeavor toward that vision. He discusses major products of Modtech labs along with their unique features and highlights the entire journey from conception to fruition. His fun and energizing conversation style makes this an enjoyable listen as well.

Hari is an angel investor focused on innovative startup teams. He practices lean startup principles and encourages founders to think global, act local and build an organizational culture suitable for innovation in startups. He is associated with Indian Angel Network (IAN), LetsVenture and IvyCap Ventures, among many others. On the show Hari talks about his entrepreneurial and angel investment journey till now. He shares insightful stories behind his major investments like Mukunda Foods (DosaMatic), Spinny, Wow Momo, Styledotme, Codeninja.ai, Zostel, Mpokket, Box8, Biggies Burger, Auntie Fung's, etc. He highlights what he looks for in startup founders and how he evaluates startups utilizing his custom-built "Investment Readiness Score" calculator.

Finally, he lets us know what his future industry bets are and he leaves us with his wisdom on the art of angel investing which for him is to "enjoy what you are doing & multiply money".  This is an insightful one for all entrepreneurs, not to be missed.

Ankit is a Senior Product Manager & Fouding Member of Qure.ai, an healthcare AI startup. He lends insights into how they started on their path to finding the right problem to solve, to how they assessed the AI-problem fit and the technical feasibility of it in the early days. Ankit also shares his inputs about the technology behind the product and how they build their MVP. Finally he emphasizes on the important point on how to go about building AI teams and also gives some advise for aspiring AI product managers. 

Dr. Amritendu is an AI researcher and the co-founder of NeuroPixel.ai, an Indian startup that currently aims to build the future of fashion cataloging. In this episode, Dr. Amritendu walks us through his research experiences, his fight with cancer, going through the Entrepreneur First program, his startup story, the AI enabling the solution and future ambitions. More importantly, he calls upon the need to bridge the gap between research & industry and solve hard problems. 

Parikshit is leading data science & advanced analytics at HUL & Unilever South Asia. We discuss the FMCG sector in general, its opportunities & challenges, and how AI/ML is currently being used in this sector. Parikshit also sheds light on some keystone AI/ML products currently being used at Unilever and given its scale of operations it's quite interesting to learn about them. This episode was hosted at the clubhouse app on the Data & AI club. Be sure to check out the club and follow them along with the show guests to get to know about their latest work.

Vishesh is the co-founder of SkyServe.ai which is on a mission to democratize earth observation by providing easily accessible real-time insights at a cost that's more affordable for customers. In this episode Vishesh walks us through his startup story, the major use cases & insights that it delivers on, its technology behind those insights, the business model and future ambitions. 

If you want to learn more about earth observation industry in general then be sure to also check out episode 20. 

Vishesh is the co-founder of SkyServe.ai which is on a mission to democratize earth observation by providing easily accessible real-time insights at a cost that's more affordable for customers. In this episode he will give us an overview of the earth observation industry, its current state at world level and in India specifically. He highlights what challenges exist in the industry and also what opportunities lie ahead, especially in terms of AI/ML application.

Gagandeep is an AI researcher and the co-founder of Minus Zero, an Indian startup that aims to build the world's first level 5 autonomous passenger vehicle. In this episode, Gagandeep walks us through his startup story, its patent-pending technology, business model, and future ambitions.

Gagandeep is an AI researcher and the co-founder of Minus Zero, a startup that aims to build worlds first level 5 autonomous passenger vehicle. In this episode Gagandeep will gives us an overview of the autonomous vehicle industry, its current state at world level and in India specifically. He highlights what challenges exist in the industry and also what opportunities lie ahead. 

Mark is an industry veteran of more than 2 decades and is currently working at ServiceNow, one of the largest digital workflow management organizations. Mark has developed a training course recommender which establishes a direct association with the topline of the business. On the show he will help us to deconstruct the problem and his methodology and in doing so provide a primer to data science practitioners in approaching and solving analytical problems. 

Vikram has had an illustrious analytics career till now, will roles ranging from being the Analytics Lead at Fractal to being the Head of Analytics of two of the most well-known Indian startups - Delhivery (which is one of India’s largest e-commerce supply chain player) and Gaana (which is India's largest commercial music streaming service with over 200 million monthly users). Not surprisingly then he was awarded the 40 under 40 Data Scientist in India by Analytics India magazine recently. In this second part of the discussion, Vikram discusses about culture at Gaana, unique aspects of Gaana, his most fulfilling project till date, whats in future for analytics at Gaana and some sage advise for young practitioners.

Vikram has had an illustrious analytics career till now, will roles ranging from being the Analytics Lead at Fractal to being the Head of Analytics of two of the most well-known Indian startups - Delhivery (which is one of India’s largest e-commerce supply chain player) and Gaana (which is India's largest commercial music streaming service with over 200 million monthly users). Not surprisingly then he was awarded the 40 under 40 Data Scientist in India by Analytics India magazine recently. On the show, Vikram will be letting us know about his journey in analytics till now, how he faced & overcame certain challenges, what he looks for in data scientists along with certain other fun facts, and what's in store in the future for Gaana and AI in general.

Alex is a machine learning engineer and a serial entrepreneur. His latest startup Nansen.ai aims to combine two of the most hottest deep tech - Blockchain & Analytics. In this second part of a 2 part series, Alex outlays how Nansen.ai helps in the end-to-end crypto investor lifecycle and his future roadmap. He also shares his views on the current & future state of crypto markets and some personal musings. Links to few mentions in the episode is given below.

Alex is a machine learning engineer and a serial entrepreneur. His latest startup Nansen.ai aims to combine two of the most hottest deep tech - Blockchain & Analytics. In this first part of a 2 part series, Alex discussed what motivated him to start Nansen, how does Nansen help crypto-investors make better decisions and protects them and many other aspects of the blockchain ecosystem. Links to few mentions in the episode is given below. 

Patents protect the inverter by granting them exclusive rights of an invention for a designated period in exchange for disclosure of the invention. However their applicability to AI lends some consideration. I am excited to have Santhosh with us today to shed more light on this. Santosh is an industry professional with experiences across caterpillar, Lennox Industries and now Philips. Recently he was awarded a patent for using an AI method to operate a HVAC system so as to save energy costs based on predicted temperatures. Santhosh will be drawing from his experiences to demystify the AI patent landscape for us.

On todays show we have with us Aditya who is the Operations & Logistics Analytics Manager at Swiggy, Indias largest and highest-valued online food ordering and delivery platform. Aditya will talk about how Swiggy utilizes location intelligence to pin-point accurate addresses of customers thereby ensuring a smooth delivery process and increasing customer satisfaction. He dives deep into the AI/ML approach implemented to address this use case and also reflects on his personal learnings and experiences at Swiggy. 

Peter is a rapid prototyping specialist and the co-founder of Mixpose, a multi-award winning startup (Google, NVIDIA among others) that is solving a very pertinent problem in today’s COVID world that of creating an engaging online interaction between instructors and their students, specifically for Yoga. Mixpose utilizes two of the hottest deep tech i.e. AI at edge and live streaming to help yoga instructors across the world to deliver high quality & highly engaging yoga classes. In the episode, Peter touches upon the AI/ML approach to detect yoga poses & highlights his startup experience till now with more focus on the importance of achieving product-market fit.