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Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas has backed Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's recent remark on the disappointing numbers of the 'Deep tech' startups in the country in comparison to China.

At the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2025, Srinivas called Goyal's statement, "positively provocative" which are meant to "instigate to build such technology".

The CEO said just like Indian startups, China went through the same trajectory decades ago. He exuded confidence in the domestic entrepreneurs, saying, "India can certainly produce its own TikTok, which is not a deep tech, but it's a product that received attention of global audience".

However, Srinivas emphasized that success in deep tech can only be achieved if venture capitalists become risk-takers. 

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/special-coverage/piyush-goyal-slams-indian-startups-for-focusing-on-fancy-ice-cream-while-china-develops-chips-61350.htm">Piyush Goyal slams Indian startups for focusing on ‘fancy ice-cream’ while China develops chips</a>

"VCs in India are very risk averse as their investments are infused in companies where they wouldn't lose money," Srinivas said. "However, the mindset should be like 95% of my investments would fail, but 5% percent of my investments would give me 100x returns. I don't think that mindset exists among Indian venture capitalists," he added.

Perplexity AI, founded in 2022, recently achieved $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). It is going to be valued at $18 billion in the next funding round.

Recently, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal took a jab at Indian quick commerce and food delivery startups, saying that their focus is on "turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so that the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house".

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/from-zeptos-aadit-palicha-to-ashneer-grover-startup-founders-investors-hit-back-at-piyush-goyals-jibe-61443.htm">From Zepto’s Aadit Palicha to Ashneer Grover, startup founders, investors hit back at Piyush Goyal’s jibe</a>

Comparing it with China, Goyal said, "The other side is working on developing electric mobility, battery technologies and dominating the electric mobility system".

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/aman-gupta-supports-piyush-goyals-vision-for-indian-startups-to-dream-bigger-61591.htm">Aman Gupta supports Piyush Goyal’s vision for Indian startups to ‘dream bigger’</a>

On Deep tech startups, Goyal said it is disturbing that India has only a thousand of them. While the other side (China) is doing robotics, automation, machine learning, and preparing themselves for 3D manufacturing.

Goyal's remark has largely received a barrage of criticism from entrepreneurs like Zepto co-founders Aadit Palicha, BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, and investors such as Mohandas Pai. 

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/piyush-goyal-responds-to-startup-criticism-calls-the-backlash-unfortunate-61768.htm">Piyush Goyal responds to startup criticism, calls the backlash ‘unfortunate’</a>

Yesterday, Goyal responded to the backlash, calling it "unfortunate".“I have been bashed up a little bit by Mohandas Pai in the last few days for my appeals for startups to focus on innovation,” Goyal said. “But I do believe it is unfortunate that the whole issue of innovation was criticised. Sometimes it is important to shake up an ecosystem to make it realise the urgency of the situation".

'Positively provocative, meant to instigate entrepreneurs,' says Perplexity AI CEO on Piyush Goyal's deep tech remark

Bengaluru, India's thriving startup hub, is home to more than 40 unicorns valued at over $1 billion. However, 95 percent of these startups, including publicly listed companies, reported losses totalling Rs 16,389 crore in the fiscal year 2024. Notably, certain startups were excluded from this analysis due to unavailablity of their FY24 data.


According to the data sourced from cloud-based marketing platform Tracxn, only seven Bengaluru-based unicorns were profitable in FY24 (Zerodha, Postman, Moneyview, Perfios, Zeta India, Razorpay, and Groww), registering a PAT of Rs 6,209.6 crore, with Zerodha's net profit of Rs 5,496 crore being the highest among them.

It must be noted that the Karnataka government allocated Rs 1,000 crore in its recent budget announcement to stimulate the startup ecosystem in Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Kalburgi. The state government earmarked Rs 300 crore for Fund-of-Funds and a corpus of Rs 100 crore for Deep-tech development.

Some of the prominent Bengaluru-based startups, whose valuations have got attention but are bleeding cash include Zepto (FY24 loss at Rs 1,248 crore), Cred (Rs 1,644 crore loss), Ola Electric (Rs 1,584 crore) and Curefit (Rs 888.5 crore), respectively.


Similarly, unicorns headquartered in Mumbai are also grappling with substantial losses. As per the Storyboard18 analysis, MyGlamm, PharmEasy, and boAt are among the unicorns, whose losses have mounted to Rs 3886.91 crore in FY24 (excluding four companies). 

However, unicorn startups such as BillDesk, Dream11, InCred, BrowserStack, CoinDCX, and Upstox have remained successful enterprises in FY24.
 
According to Ashutosh Kumar- General Partner at Expert DOJO, "A strong startup ecosystem requires businesses that create value and generate profits. If companies continue to operate with high losses and depend only on funding rounds, the industry becomes unstable. Market corrections will eventually force businesses to focus on profitability. Companies that prepare early by managing costs and building sustainable revenue streams will be better positioned for long-term success". 

In the Delhi-NCR region, over half of the 30 unicorns suffered losses of Rs 6,228.45 crore in FY24, including Paytm, Physics Wallah, BharatPe, etc.

"Start-ups built on inflated valuations without a clear path to profitability are setting themselves up for failure. While high valuations may attract investors and fuel rapid expansion, they create an unsustainable cycle of cash burn, market instability, and talent drain. When the financial reality doesn’t match the hype, down rounds, layoffs, and eventual shutdowns become inevitable. True success lies in building businesses with strong fundamentals—focusing on profitability, sustainable growth, and long-term value rather than short-term valuation spikes,"  Dishi Jain, co-founder, unHR said

A report by consultancy firm Bain & Company revealed that venture capital funding rebounded to $13.7 billion in 2024, up 43 percent year-on-year. Tech-first sectors including consumer technology, software and SaaS (software-as-a-service), and fintech, secured over 60 percent of the total funding. Consumer technology emerged
as the dominant sector, attracting $5.4 billion in funding, more than double compared to 2023.

However, recently Kunal Bahl, Co-founder of Titan Capital and Snapdeal suggested startup entrepreneurs focus on scaling the business quickly and profitably. Instead of chasing unicorn status.

"India’s startup ecosystem needs sustainable, enduring businesses, not just high valuations driven by private market sentiment. The real foundation of a thriving economy is profitable, long-term companies—just like how the US tech giants started in the '80s and '90s," Bahl added.

A business should use funding to build a solid foundation rather than relying on constant capital inflows. Companies that balance growth with financial discipline can sustain themselves even when the funding environment changes, Kumar said.

95% of Bengaluru unicorns report losses in FY24, despite high valuations

The growth-stage startups in the country allocate an average of 68 percent of their revenue to employee compensation, comprising cash, according to a report by scaling platform xto10x. Neeraj Aggarwal, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at xto10x, said that compensation and payroll spending are among the two significant things to get right for start-ups, apart from the focus on profitability. 

Compensation models evolve with startup maturity. Early-stage start-ups favor commission-based incentives, while late-stage companies integrate performance-linked incentive plans with Annual Operating Plans (AOPs) to drive sustained business growth. 

To address the issue of ownership dilution during fundraising rounds, many startups, in collaboration with their boards, adopt Management Stock Option Plans (MSOPs), ensuing equitable founder ownership.

In late-stage startups, the ratio of Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) to Market Capitalization is a key guardrail in designing ESOPs and founder MSOPs. This ratio typically ranges from 0.5% to 1% (or slightly higher), ensuring that founder equity remains proportional to company valuation. Some of the mechanics of MSOP grants are Gift Equity (Direct equity transfer from co-founders or investors); Time-linked grants, performance-based grants, and IPO-based grants, respectively.  

"As startups keep scaling and growing, the compensation strategy changes for leaders, as well as, overall organisation. An early-stage compensation is lesser compared to late-stage in terms of quantum. The early stage compensations are grants to lure the employees in which performance role is negligible. However, as the company grows, the founders, then use performance-linked incentives, cash payouts, bonus payouts, etc. In the later stages of a company, founders don't receive a large percentage of equity because even a small grant of, let's say, 0.1% can mean a lot to people in terms of the absolute amount that it translates into for senior leaders," Arun Vigneswaran, Head - People Excellence at xto10x told Storyboartd18.

Leadership pay is increasingly structured to reward business impact. It increases by 20-30 percent at each stage of startup growth, as early-stage firms operate with lean teams, while growth-stage and late-stage companies attract more seasoned executives. 

Non-business functions like HR, Finance, and Engineering typically receive around 15 percent variable pay, while marketing and growth leaders see variable pay ranging from 25-50 percent, with sales leaders most commonly at 50 percent. 

According to the report, the fixed pay of CXOs, VPs, and Function Heads, typically ranges from Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.7 crore, with tech leaders in Engineering, Product, and Data Science earning above the median, it added.

In contrast, leaders in core operating or business-critical functions are paid market-leading compensation. For instance, Marketing leaders in D2C or consumer brands and tech leaders in Fintech and deep-tech startups often earn in the top 75th-90th percentile of market benchmarks. 

Unlike traditional enterprise CEOs, startup founders rely heavily on equity for wealth creation. In over $1 billion startups, CXO roles often follow a multiplier-based approach, with a median multiplier of 1.2 fold. For instance, a leader earning Rs 4 crore in salary over their tenure might receive Rs 4.8 crore in equity. This multiplier varies based on market cap, industry, etc. Citing example, the report noted that the median multiplier becomes four-fold at a valuation of $5 billion.

Startups allocate 68% of revenue to employee compensation: Report

In the latest development in beleaguered ed-tech startup Byju's insolvency proceedings, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has rejected the plea of Riju Raveendran, brother of Byju Raveendran, who sought to keep his Rs 158 crore settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) outside the scrutiny of its committee of lenders.

Riju said that the Rs 158 crore settlement with BCCI was finalised before the formation of the Committee of Creditors (CoC).

On 10 February, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed BCCI to submit the Rs 158 crore settlement plea before the committee of lenders. If accepted, Byju's could exit insolvency proceedings.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/nclt-directs-bcci-to-submit-withdrawal-application-in-dispute-with-byjus-56315.htm">NCLT directs BCCI to submit withdrawal application in dispute with Byju’s</a>

The lenders include Aditya Birla Finance and  US-based Glas Trust. They opposed it saying the settlement amount with BCCI was "tainted" money. However, the ed-tech firm and BCCI opposed it saying that it was a tax paid money.

Both Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance were part of Byju's CoC in August last year. However, they were removed from the reconstituted committee. Aditya Birla Finance alleged that the Resolution Professional had wrongfully classified it as an "operational creditor" instead of a financial creditor or lender, while Glas Trust said it was wrongfully ousted from the lenders' committee.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/nclat-orders-nclt-to-decide-on-bcci-byjus-settlement-within-a-week-56025.htm">NCLAT orders NCLT to decide on BCCI-Byju’s settlement within a week</a>
 
The CoC is a group of financial creditors who represent the company during the insolvency process. 

The company's tribunal will hear the matter on 3 March.

NCLAT turns down Byju's appeal to exempt Rs 158 crore settlement from lenders' review

India's startups witnessed some signs of recovery in 2024 after prolonged funding crunch, stemming from rising interest rates, uncertain global economic conditions, and geopolitical tensions which made investors risk averse. Private Equity investors and Venture Capitalists gradually showed optimism and splurged capital in selected companies this year, led by quick commerce, ecommerce sectors and health-tech sectors.

Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha-led Zepto remained the funding leader in 2024, raising more than $1 billion in three rounds by institutional investors such as avra, Glade Brook Capital, General Catalyst, Epiq Capital Advisors, according to the data by Tracxn shared with Storyboard18. 

The quick commerce firm raised $350 million in a Series G funding round last month. In August 2024, the Bengaluru-based startup raised $340 million and $665 million in Series F round in June this year, taking up the valuation to $5 billion. 

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/from-paytm-to-flipkart-indias-top-startups-let-go-of-thousands-of-employees-in-2024-51354.htm">From Paytm to Flipkart, India’s top startups let go of thousands of employees in 2024</a>

E-commerce major Meesho became favourites of PE and VC investors this year. The Vidit Aatrey company $275 million in Series F round from Tiger Global Management and Peak XV Partners in May.

Heathtech also retained its position as a leading sector in PE and VC funding in 2024.

Apollo 24|7 stood as the second-most funded startup in 2024 raising $297 million in April this year by US-based PE firm Advent International in April. Another health-tech startup, API Holdings, parent company of PharmEasy, raised $216 million in Series F round from led by Ranjan Pai's Manipal Group and Temasek in April this year. The other investor included Caisee de depot et placement du Quebec, Goldman Sachs, EvolutionX and WSSS Investments.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/talent-drain-hits-indias-unicorn-startups-attrition-rate-reaches-4-5-report-51142.htm">Talent drain hits India’s unicorn startups, attrition rate reaches 4.5%: Report</a>

Ed-tech startup Physics Wallah, was the sixth-most funded startup of 2024, raising $210 million in Series B round, taking the company's valuation to $2.8 billion. Another ed-tech firm, Eruditus, was among the top-13 most funded startups that secured more than $100 million of funding in 2024. Eruditus raised $150 million, led by TPG's The Rise Fund and SoftBank Vision Fund in October. 

Ride hailing platform Rapido secured $200 million in Series E round of funding led by West bridge Capital and Nexus Venture Partners in September 2023, taking valuation to $1.1 billion. 

Manish Taneja's  Purplle also emerged as one of the lucrative companies for the investors in 2024. The omnichannel  beauty and personal care platform received a VC funding of $178 million in Series F round, led by Premji Invest and Blume Ventures in October. The company's current valuation stands at $1.3 billion.

Followed by Purplle, hospitality startup Oyo was the ninth most funded startup by PEs and VCs in the current calendar year. The Ritesh Agarwal-led Oyo closed  $175 million funding, led by Patience Capital Group and J&A Partners Business in August.

SaaS-based digital adoption platform for customer self-service, Whatfix raised $125 million in a Series F round while audio series platform Pocket FM raised $103 million, and Mintifi, an online marketplace for business loans, raised $100 million from PE and VC investors in 2024.

There are other successful newbie businesses that raised more than $100 million in funding but via other routes. For instance, eyewear retailer Lenskart raised $200 million in secondary investment from Temasek and Fidelity Management and Research Company in June this year. Logistics startup Ecom Express raised $172 million from existing investors through the right issue, and HealthKart announced that it raised $153 million in a secondary funding round led by investors ChrysCapital and Motilal Oswal Alternates.

According to Bloomberg data, the VC recorded a total value of $16.77 billion in Indian startups between January and November 2024 a 14.1 percent increase in value compared to 2023.

Top startups raise big bucks in 2024: From Zepto to Meesho, new-age firms see rise in funding

With 33,289 employees tendering their resignation, India's unicorn startups faced a massive talent drain in August 2024. According to a report by PrivateCircle Research, India's startup workforce witnessed a net decline of 6700 employees from August 2023 to 2024. 

More than 39,000 employees left unicorn companies in September 2023, the highest in the aforementioned period. This could be a result of layoffs or employees quitting their jobs. Between January and August 2024, a total of 253,516 employees departed from unicorn startups, the data added.

A unicorn company is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion that is not listed on the stock market.

As per the EPFO filings of the 116 unicorns, the attrition rate stood at 4.5 percent between August 2023 and 2024. Notably, online brokerage platform Zerodha and tech startups Zoho and MapmyIndia managed to maintain attrition rates of around 1 percent or lower. Additionally, unicorns such as electric 2-wheeler startup Ather Energy, SaaS startup Druva and Icertis, sports-tech platform Dream Sports, and automation firm Uniphore managed attrition rates below 2 percent during the aforementioned period. 

<strong>'Hiring in unicorns'</strong>

The 116 unicorns added 4,10,829 employees to their workplace in August 2024, compared to 4,17,561 in August 2023. And, in 2024 alone, they added 272,308 employees.

The hiring picked up in March 2024 with 42,000 employees added in a single month. Some of the unicorns that saw significant workforce increments in March 2024 were Paytm, BigBasket, and PB Fintech among others. 

Across all major startup hubs, Delhi NCR saw the maximum additions in the total number of employees at 18,554 (August 2023-24). Some of the mass recruiters from Delhi NCR included PolicyBazaar, Blinkit, and Zomato. 

The second-highest employee additions were recorded in Chennai-based unicorns at 4,785, followed by Bengaluru at 2,384. In contrast, Mumbai-based unicorns saw a net decrease of 7,024 employees from the cumulative workforce. Pune and Hyderabad have also recorded a decrease in their overall workforce numbers at 643 and 66, respectively.

"Unicorns continue to be large employers in India. We find that the compounded revenue growth among most unicorns has been in high double digits over two years, and yet these unicorns have maintained stable employee numbers. This signals efficient usage of human capital even during periods of high growth. The monthly net change in unicorn workforce has stayed between -0.9% and 2.5% during the selected time period," Dr Murali Logananthan, Director of Research at PrivateCircle said.

Talent drain hits India's unicorn startups, attrition rate reaches 4.5%: Report

Spring Capital recently invested in the sportswear and athleisure venture Agilitas Sports led by former PUMA India and South East Asia Managing Director Abhishek Ganguly, a source confirmed, without disclosing the amount of the investment. Spring Capital will collaborate closely with Agilitas to develop brand and launch strategies based on a deep understanding of consumer behavior and culture.

In April of this year, Agilitas Sports acquired the India license for the Italian shoe brand Lotto for 40 years, at an undisclosed price. Under the partnership with Lotto's parent company, WHP Global, Agilitas, based in Bengaluru, will oversee the manufacturing, design, and sale of Lotto products across India, South Asia, and Australia.

“The investment was made by Spring Capital last week,” said a source familiar with the matter.

Spring Capital has investments in a variety of brand portfolios, including the jewelry brand Giva, the online beauty and grooming platform Purplle, and the organic personal care brand Juicy Chemistry, among others.

In December 2023, Agilitas Sports received Rs 100 crore in funding from Nexus Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs building product-focused companies in India and the US.

Convergent Finance LLP, an investment management and advisory firm led by Harsha Raghavan, also made a significant investment of over Rs 400 crore in the startup.

Storyboard18 reached out to Abhishek Ganguly, co-founder and CEO of Agilitas Sports, for comment. The story will be updated once an official statement is received from the company.

Spring Capital invests in Agilitas, will help develop brand and launch strategies

In what can be described as a quintessential Bengaluru narrative, a tech intern informed his CEO via a WhatsApp conversation that he would be leaving his position because his own AI startup had successfully secured funding.

This incident was shared by Karthik Sridharan, CEO of Flexiple, on the social media platform X, igniting a spectrum of responses from the online community.

Sridharan's enquiry about the intern's absence on a recent Friday led to an unexpected revelation. The intern, seizing the day off to meet with a venture capitalist, announced his startup's newfound financial backing. "Hey, sorry I took a leave because I had a meeting with a VC. My AI startup got funded. I don't need the internship anymore," the intern texted Sridharan. In light of this, Sridharan humorously noted, "This only happens in Bangalore," while posting the conversation screenshot.

The intern's sudden departure has been met with a mix of admiration and critique on social media. Some applauded his entrepreneurial spirit and successful pitch, while others voiced concern over what they perceived as a lack of professionalism in his abrupt exit.

"Wanna know how big the funding was," commented one user on X, while another user reflected on the broader implications of the scenario. "The intern's exit may have sparked controversy, but the real story here is the incredible marketing exposure his startup received without spending a single penny. This kind of viral attention is a dream for any startup looking to make a mark."

The incident has sparked lively discussions about workplace norms and the dynamic setup culture in Bengaluru. As one social media user put it, "Kudos to you!" Meanwhile, another remarked on the unique local business environment, saying, "Peak Bengaluru moment."


Bengaluru intern quits after securing funding for his own AI startup

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar will soon launch a new sports athleisure brand with former Swiggy Instamart head Karthik Gurumurthy, as per media reports. Former Swiggy executive Karan Arora will join as the third co-founder.  Tendulkar is also part of a joint venture for menswear brand True Blue with Arvind Fashions

Incubated by Whiteboard Capital, the venture aims to compete with top brands through affordable, locally-manufactured products. Tendulkar is actively involved in the development of the products, which will include cricket and badminton gear.

According to the report, a holding company has already been registered for the venture. Early-stage venture fund Whiteboard Capital incubated the startup along with Tendulkar. Filings show Tendulkar and Whiteboard Capital are currently on the board of directors of the holding firm named SRT10 Athleisure Pvt Ltd. 

The startup is at an advanced stage to raise capital from a top venture capital fund. Tendulkar is the ambassador for True Blue, he also endorses brands including Spinny, Boost, and BMW.

The brand is likely to compete with existing brands in India such as PUMA, Agilitas, Nike, Adidas, etc. Tendulkar's new venture adds to the growing trends of local as well as global celebrities setting up ventures, some of which have even been sold for $1 billion or more.

Sachin Tendulkar to launch sports athleisure brand in India

In the age of digital disruption, 77% of the startups in India are investing in advanced technologies, including AI, ML, IoT, and blockchain, according to a study by SAP-Dun & Bradstreet.

The study titled, "Value Creation and Sustainable Growth: The Blueprint for Startup Profitability in India," said that startups have proactively integrated advanced technologies to achieve operational efficiency.

Almost 80% of the startups believe that adopting enterprise applications integrated with new-age technologies such as AI is essential for scaling and improving unit economics. Whereas 72% of startups already have or are looking to invest in new-age technologies.

85% of startups in the country said that unit economics is a clear path to profitability and enhancing valuation.

The report noted that Tier-2 and 3 cities have become innovation hubs. As many as 40% of total tech startups originate from these cities, the report added.

"Cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur, Madurai, Indore, Kochi, Warangal, Hubli, Raipur, Vishakhapatnam, and Guwahati, among others, host 15% of the country's tech skill pool," according to the study.

"The rising prominence of Tier II and Tier III cities as innovation hubs has further decentralized economic development. As we navigate the challenges of funding limitations and market volatility, start-ups must focus on unit economics and profitability to build sustainable and profitable enterprises," Avinash Gupta, Managing Director & CEO – India, Dun & Bradstreet said.

Several startups have adopted new-age technologies such as agritech startups have adopted AI-powered drones and IoT devices optimising farming practices, enhancing yield, and reducing labour costs. Fintech startups are using AI algorithms for credit scoring and risk assessment and also detecting fraud.

64% respondents of in the study said that the adoption of enterprise applications is key to measuring rapidly changing customer behavior and making strategic decisions to scale and improve unit economics.

STARTUP