As the sun rises on the era of artificial intelligence, a wave of disruption is sweeping through India, and at its crest, ambitious executives from revered unicorns like Flipkart and Krutrim are fervently trading in their corporate cards for the exhilarating challenge of launching their own AI-driven ventures. They stand on the brink of a technological revolution, where possibilities seem boundless, and the very fabric of business operation is undergoing a radical transformation.
“To witness a monumental shift and not seize the opportunity would be nothing short of tragic,” remarked Sandeep Kohli, the visionary co-founder of Divyam.ai, who once held a senior vice president position at Flipkart. Joining forces with Sudhir Reddy, a former architect of Flipkart’s cloud infrastructure, Kohli is developing an autonomous AI platform designed to enhance operational efficiency and slash infrastructure costs in the burgeoning landscape of generative AI applications.
“The impossible is now possible, courtesy of large language models,” Kohli proclaimed, signaling this shift as nothing less than foundational. This sentiment resonates deeply as these first-time entrepreneurs navigate a landscape previously thought unreachable, fueled by creativity and backed by formidable technology.
In a similar pursuit, Vipul Shah, erstwhile VP of Products at Krutrim, has ventured into the world of Agentic AI, honing in on risk management solutions tailored for the architecture, engineering, and construction sectors. Nestled in Silicon Valley, Shah’s aspirations took root amidst a crowd of innovative thinkers—an atmosphere where startup dreams inevitably begin to flourish.
But the excitement doesn’t stop there. Industry stalwarts like Mukesh Bansal, the brain behind Myntra, have launched Nurix, a platform unleashing AI agents into the customer service realm. Meanwhile, the tech-savvy Amod Malviya, co-founder of Udaan and a former CTO at Flipkart, is already making waves with Pre6.ai, an AI startup poised to make substantial impacts.
In their quest for groundbreaking products, these founders prioritize innovation over mere capital influx. Kohli mentions that they’ve secured initial customers and anticipate their product will be commercially available within three months, yet they are in no rush to seek venture funding, choosing instead to align with the right investors.
“Attracting top-tier talent demands significant financial resources—hiring from Flipkart doesn’t come cheap,” Reddy noted. Surprisingly, the ten-member team, largely composed of ex-Flipkart colleagues, has united under a shared belief in their vision—working without pay as they passionately chase their dream.
Another executive on the brink of launching an Agentic AI initiative shared an approach grounded in collaboration, engaging clients early in the product development cycle to ensure market relevance before courting investors.
However, the narrative of these late-blooming entrepreneurs raises intriguing questions. Executives like Ashok Jagnnathan, formerly of Krutrim, now co-founder of AI semiconductor startup Agrani Labs, and Ankur Jain, who left his role as chief product officer at BharatPe to create JiviAI—an AI health and wellness platform—find themselves navigating familiar yet drastically altered waters.
Embarking on this venture later in life can present unique challenges. A seasoned executive, contemplating building a tech team in India, expressed the need to “unlearn” traditional methodologies, acknowledging that while software development may typically span 2-3 years, in the realm of AI, speed is imperative—development cycles are reducing to a year or even less.
Agility and decisiveness are the orders of the day, offering not just trials, but vast opportunities across every sector ripe for reinvention. Founders are keenly aware of the fertile possibility surrounding them, and those emerging from the Flipkart ecosystem are particularly well-positioned, drawing on a wellspring of insights and connections that previously eluded aspiring entrepreneurs.
In this exhilarating journey, the horizon gleams with promise, and those ready to embrace the AI revolution are poised to redefine the landscape of innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
