Deccan Founders

Arnab Goswami critiques Shark Tank India for glorifying unsustainable startups and fueling the obsession with big valuations. He exposes the dangers of prioritizing investment over genuine innovation, calling out the flaws in India’s startup ecosystem. #StartupIndia #ArnabGoswami #SharkTankIndia #StartupScam #ValuationVsValue #PumpAndDump #IndianStartups #StartupRealityCheck

Startups aren’t about wearing ripped jeans, raising funds, and burning them to deliver food. They’re about solving real problems with real innovation, not riding hype to hit IPOs and exit rich. Time to call out the façade. #StartupCulture #RealEntrepreneurship #ArnabGoswami #BurnRateBubble #IndiaStartups #Founders #TechWithSubstance #BuildNotBurn

xAI launched Grok Studio, enhancing AI-driven development by allowing code generation, document creation, and real-time collaboration. It supports languages like Python and JavaScript, integrating with Google Drive for seamless workflows. Users can test code in a dedicated preview tab, while Julia code generation is supported, execution requires external tools. Grok Studio facilitates creative tasks like report building and game design, similar to OpenAI’s Canvas. The recent Grok 3 model, trained on Colossus, achieved an Elo score of 1402, demonstrating strong reasoning and problem-solving capabilities. #AI #DevelopmentTools #Innovation #XAI #DeccanFounders

Sify Technologies Limited. launched the Chennai 02 data center campus, termed South India's largest AI-ready facility, with a capacity exceeding 130 MW. Chairman Raju Vegesna noted the ₹10,000 crore investment aims to create 10,000 jobs. The facility, inaugurated by Tamil Nadu's CM MK Stalin, is NVIDIA DGX-ready certified for liquid cooling. Sify Cloudinfinit +AI offers GPU-as-a-service. With data centers across India, including Mumbai and Bengaluru, Sify serves over 10,000 enterprises. A $5 billion expansion targets Tier 2 and 3 cities, mirroring Reliance's plan for a massive data center in Jamnagar. #DataCenter #AI #SifyTechnologies #Chennai #TamilNadu #India #DeccanFounders

OpenAI introduced o3, o4-mini, and Codex CLI, advancing AI reasoning and code generation. Greg Brockman hails the new models as the “smartest” yet, with enhanced tool integration. Sam Altman announced Codex CLI, an open-source coding agent. o3 excels in coding, math, science, and visual perception, setting benchmarks on Codeforces and SWE-bench. o4-mini offers efficient performance in math, coding, and data science. Both models improve instruction following and personalize interactions. Fouad Matin and Michael Bolin showcased Codex CLI's multimodal reasoning. A $1 million grant supports Codex CLI projects. Safety enhancements include rebuilt training data and risk monitoring. #OpenAI #AI #CodeGeneration #ChatGPT #DeccanFounders

GOOD MONK (Superfoods Valley Pvt. Ltd.), secured $2M in pre-Series A funding led by RPSG Capital Ventures with participation from Multiply Ventures, Sharrp Ventures | Harsh Mariwala Investment Office, and ThinKuvate. Funds will boost R&D for better nutritional alternatives. Founded in 2022 by Amarpreet Singh Anand and Sahiba Kaur, Good Monk offers diverse products including multivitamin mixes and senior nutrition. They aim to make nutrition accessible with transparency, supporting communities and contributing to mid-day meal programs. Available on Amazon, Flipkart, and its website, Good Monk has grown 11X in a year. RPSG Capital also backs Nutrabay, Plix, and True Elements. #Funding #Nutrition #Ecommerce #GoodMonk #DeccanFounders

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma Sharma has surrendered 21 million unvested ESOPs amid SEBI scrutiny. One97 Communications Limited Communications reported Sharma's decision to forgo ESOPs under the 2019 scheme, resulting in a one-time INR 492 Cr ESOP expense increase in Q4 FY25. SEBI's investigation involves potential promoter misclassification during Paytm's 2021 IPO. Sharma reduced his stake pre-IPO, raising concerns. Paytm, facing regulatory headwinds and RBI's Paytm Payments Bank restrictions, focuses on core businesses—payments, lending, and merchant services. The company aims for profitability in Q1 FY26. #Paytm #SEBI #ESOP #Fintech #DeccanFounders

Nothing Before Coffee, a QSR chain, founded by Anand Jain, Akshay Kedia, Ankesh Jain, Shubham Bhandari has raised $2.3 million in pre-Series A funding led by Prath Ventures. The investment will fuel the opening of 150+ outlets by March 2026, focusing on Tier II & III cities and new store formats. A portion will enhance the digital platform, supply chain, and talent pool. Co-founder Ankesh Jain aims to establish NBC as India’s favorite accessible coffee chain. Founded in 2017, NBC operates 85+ outlets and competes with Blue Tokai and Third Wave Coffee. India’s coffee chain market is projected to reach $323.8 million by 2033. #QSR #CoffeeChain #Funding #NothingBeforeCoffee #PrathVentures #DeccanFounders

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met Starlink executives Samuel (Chad) Gibbs IV and Ryan D. Goodnight to discuss India investment plans and Starlink's technology. Starlink's satcom license is nearing approval, with airtel and Reliance Industries Limited Jio partnering with SpaceX to offer Starlink's broadband. Vodafone Idea Limited Idea is also exploring satcom services with Starlink and Amazon Project Kuiper. TRAI considers a five-year satcom spectrum allocation, while Airtel and Jio prefer administrative allocation. Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said satcom spectrum allocation would be administrative and determined by TRAI. #Starlink #IndiaInvestment #Satcom #India #Jio #Airtel #DeccanFounders

Varthana, an education-focused NBFC, secured INR 75 Cr ($8.7M) in debt funding led by OfBusiness and Oxyzo. The funds will expand loan offerings for low-budget private schools and students in India. Varthana's loan book grew 48% YoY to INR 1,896 Cr in FY25 and aims for 50% growth by March 2026. Founded by Brajesh Mishra and Steve Hardgrave, Varthana provides collateral-free loans, having financed 11,500+ schools and issued 75,000+ loans. Competitors include Avanse, Leap Finance, and Auxilo. Varthana reported a net profit of INR 30 Cr in FY24 amid India's booming lending tech space. #EdTech #Funding #NBFC #Varthana #Loans #Studentloans #DeccanFounders