SHAKTI reposted this
How do I improve people’s lives? For Madhav Krishna, Founder and CEO of SHAKTI portfolio company, Vahan.ai, this question sparked a lifelong mission. During a visit home to Delhi from New York, Madhav joined his parents in handing out food to passersby. While serving daal and rice, a young boy in tattered clothes approached. After receiving his meal, the boy’s face lit up with a bright smile and he wrapped Madhav in a grateful hug. At that moment, Madhav had an epiphany—this child, simply by chance of birth, was destined for a life of poverty, while he had the privilege of opportunity. Determined to make a difference, Madhav initially launched Vahan.ai as a mobile application to help low-income English learners through language immersion to unlock job opportunities. However, like many startups, Vahan.ai evolved. Shifting Vahan’s focus from education to employment, he made job placement its core mission, wanting to make it as fast and simple for both candidates and employers. A software developer by training and coder by age 12, Madhav earned his master’s in AI from Columbia University before the AI boom. After working with startups in New York, he gained hands-on experience in building products, marketing, sales, and engineering—skills that laid the foundation for Vahan.ai. Today, Vahan.ai is India’s largest recruitment platform for gig economy workers, helping 40,000 people find jobs every month! Using AI-powered chatbots, Vahan streamlines the hiring process—managing initial interactions, pre-screening candidates, and guiding them through each step—helping both employers and job seekers save valuable time. By partnering with major companies like Zomato and Uber, Vahan.ai is driving economic empowerment at scale. The company’s name, which means “vehicle” in Sanskrit, reflects its mission: being the vehicle that carries millions toward a better financial future. And they’re just getting started.