Lightspeed India Monthly Round-Up

As we look back at September ‘24, we reflect on a month filled with new partnerships, news, events and insights. #SeptemberwithLightspeedIndia

PARTNERSHIPS

Physics Wallah

We are thrilled to partner with Alakh Pandey, Prateek Maheshwari, and the PW (PhysicsWallah) team to further democratize education in India. With their innovative, affordable learning solutions, Physics Wallah is making high-quality education accessible to millions of students across the country. Read more about it in Livemint.

Qure.AI

Thrilled to announce that we have led the recent funding round of Qure.ai, a pioneer in AI-driven healthcare diagnostics. We look forward to supporting Prashant Warier and their team as they expand to new markets and further advance their imaging solutions to improve healthcare access worldwide. Read more on DealStreetAsia.

Centricity

We are excited to partner with Centricity as they build a pioneering wealth management model aimed at addressing the country's underserved wealth market by democratizing accessibility to financial products. Read more in The Economic Times.

READ, LISTEN AND WATCH 👀

A recent in-depth feature by Forbes India captured team Lightspeed’s vision for India’s startup ecosystem and focus on emerging sectors like AI, frontier tech, and climate tech. 

India's vibrant startup ecosystem will be a key force in propelling the country forward. In the recent Business Today column, Vivek Gambhir penned down his thoughts on crucial areas that could turn moonshots into reality. 

In a conversation with CNBC's Tanvir Gill and Sam Vadas on Street Signs Asia, Rahul Taneja discussed Lightspeed's optimism in the India and SEA market, driven by rising demand, stronger exits, and a vibrant funding ecosystem. 

EXPERT INSIGHTS

Ritesh Agarwal is the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, a global platform that empowers hotel owners by providing full-stack technology products and services to increase revenue and ease operations; bringing easy-to-book, affordable, and trusted accommodation.

Vivek Sinha is the founder of Emversity, an employability-led education company dedicated to preparing students for success in today's competitive job market with a specialization in vocational courses tailored to the Allied Health Sciences. 

LIMITLESS BY LIGHTSPEED

The art and science of product differentiation

Although product differentiation seems like an oft-repeated mantra, it often lacks clarity for many founders. In this article by Limitless, learn how Anand Balaji, Co-Founder and CEO of Xflow, approaches product differentiation in the cross-border payment space to build strong customer loyalty in a competitive fintech market.

The SaaS founder’s guide to everything MVP

The concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has evolved significantly over the past two decades. With more businesses launching cross-border, many founders face challenges in their MVP journey. In a recent Limitless article, Rohit Agarwal, Co-Founder of Portkey, outlines key indicators for achieving MVP and eventually PMF.

How does Gushwork interpret content-led growth in a non-native market?

In today’s business landscape, it’s essential for companies to have a content-led growth strategy. In this Limitless article, Nayrhit Bhattacharya, Co-Founder and CEO of Gushwork, outlines a content-led growth strategy that combines AI with human expertise to help cross-border founders succeed in the global market.    

Subscribe to Limitless to join our community of cross-border entrepreneurs!

LIGHTSPEED EVENTS

At the ETRetail's E-Commerce & Digital Natives Summit #ETEcomSummit, Vivek Gambhir joined a panel of industry experts to discuss the state of e-retail in India, touching upon topics such as the growth opportunity of e-retail across different sectors, the impact of micropayments and UPI, and the emerging new models reshaping the D2C space.

A spirited discussion at ETRetail’s E-commerce and Digital Natives Summit #ETEcomSummit - Rahul Taneja discussed with other industry experts how vertical commerce is disrupting the traditional retail models.  

A panel of industry experts, led by Vivek Gambhir, discussed how startups can balance growth and profitability by having a clear mission, strategic roadmap, financial prudence, and a focus on key metrics like gross margins and acquisition costs at the ETRetail's E-commerce and Digital Natives Summit 2024.

Lightspeed hosted a Founder Mixer featuring the Founder & CEO of Moveworks, Bhavin Shah, who shared his insights on scaling Moveworks from its inception to impact. The event brought together several AI and SaaS Founders from the Bay Area, along with visitors from Argentina, India, and Israel.

Lightspeed India hosted an engaging session with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) US AI-SaaS Cohort at Lightspeed's Menlo Park office, where Dev Khare shared valuable insights on cross-border GTM strategies, achieving PMF and driving SaaS growth with a global mindset. 

Amit Mehra had an engaging discussion with Ravish Kumar during the Ask-Me-Anything session on Finance 101 for Startup Founders organized by Google for Startups, covering essential topics like startup registration, funding, valuations, managing working capital, and building a solid finance function. Watch the full session.   

During Lightspeed’s GTM social evening hosted in partnership with SaaSBoomi, Dev Khare and Ajeet Singh, Co-founder of Nutanix and Thoughtspot, shared learnings with founders on going after $20B+ markets.

Lightspeed India co-hosted a Generative AI Workshop with Microsoft in Bengaluru, where experts discussed the evolution of language models, strategies for building and optimizing AI applications and its impact on developer productivity.

An evening of engaging conversation at the Lightspeed India Supper Club in Bengaluru, hosted by Romit Mehta and Richa Sharma, where founders gathered to explore emerging themes, AI use cases, and innovative startups driving the future.

Thank you for joining us as we recap the highlights of September. For daily updates, follow us on our LinkedIn page or subscribe to receive our monthly round-up directly in your inbox!