Latest news with #KunalBahl
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Finding Gen XX among GenAI leaders
There are nearly 7,000 active women-led startups in India. The number may seem huge, but it is only 7.5% of the total pool, according to data from Tracxn. In the tech space, these startups have so far collectively raised $26.4 billion, with 2021 attracting the most funds at $6.3 billion. Since then, the number of women-led startups and capital raised by them has consistently declined. The gaps in the tech landscape being headlined by GenAI are already visible. A recent BCG Report said that in India, there are 65% more male executives in GenAI at the head or director level than female. At the junior level, women's representation is 33%, which drops to 19% at the senior level. But there are signs of a shift. Experts say that GenAI may have the potential to correct the imbalance to some extent, as it democratises software and web to Nasscom, 30% of startups in its GenAI foundry already have women founders. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Breaking the glass ceiling Kunal Bahl, cofounder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, said historically, tech innovation has been male-dominated—driven by risk-taking, access to capital, and networks that favoured men. Live Events 'But, more women are founding companies, especially in sectors like consumer tech, fintech, healthtech, and increasingly in core tech as well,' he told ET, calling it a meaningful shift. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Several initiatives such as AI Kiran, led by Kirthiga Reddy, founder, Verix, CXXO led by Vani Kola, founder and MD, Kalaari Capital, and Peak XV's Spark Fellowship, are fueling growth platforms for women leaders. For instance, the AI Kiran initiative aims to build a community of a million women leaders in AI. The first cohort of 250 AI Kiran women had 27% founders or CEOs of AI-driven companies. 'History has shown the importance of early adoption–else like the gender equity gap, we'll again be looking at 134 years to close the gender AI gap,' said Reddy who was also the first managing director of Facebook India and the first female investment partner at the $130-billion SoftBank Vision Fund. She said gender representation is crucial in AI that must reflect diverse perspectives to ensure fairness, inclusivity and ethical innovation. ETtech GenAI – an open canvas Meghana Jagadeesh, founder and chief executive of GoCodeo, has taken a bold leap to compete with the world's leading companies in the AI-assistive coding space. She explained that GenAI has democratised human interaction with machines. 'Time is ripe for women to shape tech businesses. We don't need to be expert coders, web developers or data scientists to build AI use-cases,' she said, adding that she herself emerged to be an AI founder from doing sales and marketing roles in her early career. Ritu Mehrotra, founder, United We Care (UWC), a mental health and emotional wellness company said that her inclusive team has played an instrumental role in designing empathy in the tech stack. 'Empathy is something women are naturally wired for.' Backed by Cred's Kunal Shah, UWC has broken the world record for intent-detection, automated speech recognition, she said. 'Building reasoning on top of emotional intelligence was not easy because today's AI models are not sensitised for gender, cultural, linguistic and regional diversity,' she pointed out adding that building inclusive tech is more important now than ever. Every woman is a data point which is reshaping the AI models trained for tomorrow, she explained. AI is also enabling founders like Angana Saikia of early-stage Chittoo, an AI platform for English learners, to set up companies for societal upliftment. 'GenAI as a technology has unlocked language learning for the deepest pockets of India…We have signed up users from remote villages which are unheard of,' said Saikia. As a female entrepreneur, Saikia said she often struggled for attention in male-dominated boardrooms, but that didn't deter her from setting up three ventures after quitting a job. Silent biases A Harvard Business School study showed that female founders raise seven times less funding than their male counterparts. Societal biases around maternity, lack of confidence in visionary leadership and access to resources have weighed down the progress of women entrepreneurs. In a fast-evolving technology like GenAI, gender equity is not only seen as an economic prospect but also a strategic need. And being the only woman in a room doesn't help. The need for bridging the gap is now when the ecosystem is still shaping up. Nasscom highlighted how generative AI could be a driver to this change. As per its survey, 90% of women leaders view it as crucial for career advancement, with 95-100% willing to invest extra time in mastering these technologies.
Economic Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Titan Capital launches investment vertical to back defence-tech founders
Titan Capital co-founders Rahul Bansal and Kunal Bahl. NEW DELHI: Titan Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm, has announced the launch of a specialised investment vertical to fund startups innovating in India's defence and strategic technology space. With this program, Titan Capital is actively seeking to invest in startups working at the intersection of advanced hardware, aerospace, cybersecurity, and manufacturing. The focus is not only on national security but also on fostering deep-tech innovation, creating high-value jobs, and helping India become a net exporter of strategic technologies. Kunal Bahl, Co-founder of Titan Capital, said in a statement, 'We are at a historic inflection point where national security, deep-tech innovation, and startup agility are converging. India cannot achieve true self-reliance in defence by relying on imports or public funding alone. We need to back our brightest minds—engineers, researchers, and builders—to create sovereign, dual-use technologies that can shape not just India's future, but the future of global defence. At Titan, we've always been a founder-first firm. This vertical extends that ethos into a sector that has national consequence.'As part of this initiative, Titan Capital is also looking to collaborate with veterans from the armed forces, scientists, and experienced technologists who can help assess and guide these investments with strategic insight and domain venture capital is accelerating its focus on defence-tech. U.S.-based Anduril Industries recently raised $1.5 billion for its AI-enabled combat systems, while Europe's Helsing secured €450 million in backing from General Catalyst to develop defence AI. India is now at the brink of a similar inflection, and Titan Capital wants to ensure that the ecosystem doesn't miss its moment. The Indian government has increased the defence budget to Rs 6.81 lakh crore for FY 2025–26 and launched schemes like iDEX and the Technology Development Fund (TDF) to support homegrown solutions. But capital gaps remain for early-stage companies working on complex, high-risk, high-reward technologies—precisely where venture capital firms like Titan Capital can play a catalytic role by unlocking speed, conviction, and long-term support that traditional systems often Capital has backed over 250 startups to date, including Ola, Razorpay, Urban Company, OfBusiness and Giva.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Titan Capital launches investment vertical to back defence-tech founders
Live Events NEW DELHI: Titan Capital , a seed-stage venture capital firm, has announced the launch of a specialised investment vertical to fund startups innovating in India's defence and strategic technology this program, Titan Capital is actively seeking to invest in startups working at the intersection of advanced hardware, aerospace, cybersecurity , and manufacturing. The focus is not only on national security but also on fostering deep-tech innovation, creating high-value jobs, and helping India become a net exporter of strategic technologies. Kunal Bahl , Co-founder of Titan Capital, said in a statement, 'We are at a historic inflection point where national security, deep-tech innovation, and startup agility are converging. India cannot achieve true self-reliance in defence by relying on imports or public funding alone. We need to back our brightest minds—engineers, researchers, and builders—to create sovereign, dual-use technologies that can shape not just India's future, but the future of global defence. At Titan, we've always been a founder-first firm. This vertical extends that ethos into a sector that has national consequence.'As part of this initiative, Titan Capital is also looking to collaborate with veterans from the armed forces, scientists, and experienced technologists who can help assess and guide these investments with strategic insight and domain venture capital is accelerating its focus on defence-tech. U.S.-based Anduril Industries recently raised $1.5 billion for its AI-enabled combat systems, while Europe's Helsing secured €450 million in backing from General Catalyst to develop defence AI. India is now at the brink of a similar inflection, and Titan Capital wants to ensure that the ecosystem doesn't miss its Indian government has increased the defence budget to Rs 6.81 lakh crore for FY 2025–26 and launched schemes like iDEX and the Technology Development Fund (TDF) to support homegrown solutions. But capital gaps remain for early-stage companies working on complex, high-risk, high-reward technologies—precisely where venture capital firms like Titan Capital can play a catalytic role by unlocking speed, conviction, and long-term support that traditional systems often Capital has backed over 250 startups to date, including Ola, Razorpay, Urban Company, OfBusiness and Giva.
Entrepreneur
22-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Titan Capital Targets India's Deep-Tech Defence Startups with New Investment Vertical
This new initiative focuses on empowering startups innovating in aerospace, cybersecurity, advanced hardware, and next-gen manufacturing. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In a move set to redefine India's startup ecosystem, seed-stage venture capital firm Titan Capital has launched a dedicated investment vertical to fund startups at the forefront of India's defence and strategic technology space. "We are at a historic inflection point where national security, deep-tech innovation, and startup agility are converging," said Kunal Bahl, Co-founder of Titan Capital. "India cannot achieve true self-reliance in defence by relying on imports or public funding alone." This new initiative focuses on empowering startups innovating in aerospace, cybersecurity, advanced hardware, and next-gen manufacturing. It aims to not just boost national security, but also position India as a net exporter of high-impact, dual-use technologies. Titan's mission is clear: catalyze deep-tech solutions that are sovereign, scalable, and strategic. "We need to back our brightest minds—engineers, researchers, and builders—to create sovereign technologies that shape the future of global defence," Bahl emphasised. In addition to funding, Titan seeks to collaborate with veterans, scientists, and technologists, bringing unmatched domain expertise to guide startups through uncharted terrain. This holistic approach could bridge the capital gap plaguing early-stage companies working on complex, high-reward innovations. Globally, venture capital is already leaning into defence-tech. US-based Anduril raised USD 1.5 billion, while Europe's Helsing attracted €450 million. Now, with India's defence budget swelling to INR 6.81 lakh crore and initiatives like iDEX and TDF gaining traction, Titan Capital is stepping in to ensure India doesn't miss its moment. With a portfolio of 250+ startups including Ola and Razorpay, Titan Capital's new vertical signals more than just investment—it's a bold bet on the intersection of purpose, technology, and nation-building.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Shark Tank India's Kunal Bahl recalls his 2008 mid-air scare after Delhi emergency landing
A recent mid-air emergency aboard a Delhi-to-Srinagar flight, caused by a sudden hailstorm and intense turbulence, has stirred panic among passengers and reignited past fears for many. Over 220 passengers were on board when the pilot declared a mid-air emergency before landing the plane safely. Among those impacted by the news was Snapdeal co-founder and Shark Tank India judge Kunal Bahl , who took to social media to share a terrifying aviation experience from his own past. — 1kunalbahl (@1kunalbahl) Responding to videos of the turbulence circulating online, Bahl tweeted about a harrowing incident he survived back in 2008. At the time, he and Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal were on a flight where the nose wheel reportedly detached during takeoff. The crew was able to bring the aircraft down safely, but Bahl described it as a 'near certain disaster' that he still remembers vividly. 'Glad everyone's safe! Every time I see passenger recordings of these turbulent flights, it brings back the horrific memory of the night @rohitkbansal & I were on in 2008,' he wrote. Now known to millions as one of the business minds on Shark Tank India, Kunal Bahl's television presence has given audiences a glimpse into his entrepreneurial journey. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest in Kolkata's Iconic Twin Towers Today Keventer ONE Undo However, his tweet reminded followers that behind the boardroom success and on-screen charisma is someone who's faced real, life-altering moments. Kunal Bahl is the co-founder and a prominent investor and entrepreneur. Known for his strategic insights and calm demeanor, he gained wider recognition as a judge on Shark Tank India. With a sharp business acumen, Bahl continues to shape India's startup ecosystem through mentorship, investments, and visionary leadership.
