In today’s fast-paced AI/ML landscape, early stage investors meticulously follow all relevant developments that can redefine business models and improve efficiencies. The use of AI/ML for business excellence has always been a hot topic. But the GenAI boom in the past two years has carved the path for startups looking to use this technology genre.

Although the overall funding scenario remains subdued, venture capital (VC) firms are doubling down on AI investments all over the globe. A Goldman Sachs report published last year forecast that businesses may invest around $200 Bn globally by 2025 to accrue the full benefits of GenAI, while private funding at a global level may rise to $158.4 Bn by that time.

According to a NASSCOM-BCG report, India’s AI market is estimated to reach $17 Bn by 2027, growing at an annualised rate of 25-35% between 2024 and 2027. Most of this growth will be driven by the rise in enterprise tech spending on AI tools and talent and an increase in AI investments. 

In addition, there shall be emphasis on AI-driven consumer services. Ecommerce startups using AI to personalise shopping and automate customer support have primarily gained here, raising $561 Mn in 102 deals during the first six months of 2024, according to a report by Inc42.This trend is in line with widespread online shopping and the need for smart tech to boost businesses.

To explore things further, Inc42 and Oracle recently organised a virtual panel discussion on VCs Bet Big On AI To Drive The Next Wave Of Startup Success. It was part of an ongoing series titled Boardroom: Powering Data With AI.

Moderated by Ankur Dubey, principal at Capria Ventures, the session brought together leading investors and partners from the industry, including:

• Arjun Rao, partner at Speciale Invest
• ⁠Girish Shivani, executive director & fund manager, YourNest Venture Capital
• Rajiv Mehta, MD & general partner, Athera Venture Partners
• ⁠Vikram Ramasubramanian, partner at Inflection Point Ventures
• Anagh Prasad, investor at Accel
• Sahil Makkar, VP at IndiaQuotient
• Saravanan Palanivel, VP (cloud engineering), Oracle India

How Startups Can Corner Success In An AI-First Ecosystem

The rapid advance of AI-GenAI applications and cloud-based AI platforms, software and services are driving AI implementations at scale. The all-new tech ecosystem has also transformed communications, not just between humans and machines (although chatbots/AI agents are becoming conversational wizards day by day) but between machine and machine to optimise data flow and automate routine-to-complex tasks.

AI is accelerating time-to-market for products and services, reducing costs and improving end-user experience to bring a better return on investment (RoI). 

“In my opinion, we have to reimagine these experiences [of product building] from the ground up,” said Arjun Rao of Speciale Invest. 

“Startups are often asked whether they are building AI-native products as opposed to embedded AI. In the first case, they build products from scratch with AI at the core. It requires imagining interfaces and making things much more seamless. Then you can possibly deliver 10x value. These are specialised developments instead of embedding, which is adding GenAI layers on top of existing workflows

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,” he added.

Rajiv Mehta of Athera Venture Partners (formerly Inventus India) emphasised the importance of strategic focus and agile monitoring.

“Given how fast [technological] disruptions are happening, you should be acutely aware of what the market demands and must focus on those priorities. I would say speed is critical here. The way things are moving, you must try and stay ahead of the curve.” 

Another critical factor is competitive vigilance.

“Make sure you are watching what your competitors are doing. Sift through the data and catch the signal, discarding the noises. There is always a fine line between what you can build and what needs to be built,” he said. 

Speaking about target investment areas and growth opportunities, Anagh Prasad of Accel said, “We have made substantial investments in enterprise automation. We are now pursuing verticalised assistance for services outsourced to India.”

The panel also explored opportunities around quantum computing and algorithms, AI DevOps and autonomous databases, as these innovations are set to shape the future of startups and legacy players alike.

The post VCs Bet Big On AI To Drive The Next Wave Of Startup Success appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As the global economy faces headwinds, brands and business platforms increasingly enhance customer experience (CX) to boost the top line and lower customer acquisition costs. However, CX is no longer limited to routine support or after-sales services in this consumer-driven economy. Businesses today have a deeper understanding of CX success criteria and how tech innovations can help them achieve real-time customer centricity.

This is especially crucial as great CX is a growing demand in post-Covid times. According to a recent Salesforce report titled State of the Connected Customer, 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services and 81% expect faster service as technology advances.

CX is a vast area, though, spanning the entire customer journey. But at a granular level, growth, profitability and customer satisfaction hinge on a seamless and multi-channel payment experience rather than struggling with random digital tools every time a transaction is made. Startups in the travel and mobility sector require a transformative payment system even more. Whether it is ride-hailing for local travel, long-distance tourist mobility or travel package/hotel booking, these businesses are essentially volume and value-intensive and need to accommodate multiple payment methods as people embrace the latest payment solutions.

Take, for instance, new solutions like BNPL (buy now, pay later) or the UPI-credit card linking that provides customers with many choices. As consumers demand instant, hassle-free and secure payment options in sync with their unique needs, building an overarching payment ecosystem is emerging as a successful CX hack in the travel and mobility space, enabling startups to build a major competitive moat.

To explore how to enhance CX in travel and mobility through an inclusive payment approach, Inc42 and Simpl (a Bengaluru-based payments startup) recently held an online panel discussion titled How Seamless Payments Are Reshaping Travel & Mobility, Taking CX A Notch Up. The panel discussion was part of an ongoing series called Consumer Brands Reimagined.

The session covered many critical topics, including: 

• Understanding one’s target customers and their key pain points
• How a seamless payment experience can shape and enhance CX 
• Decoding the needs and expectations of new-age consumers

Moderated by Nitya Sharma, founder and CEO of Simpl, the panel brought together CX leaders from the travel and mobility sectors, including

• Avinash Banavathu, VP (growth) at AbhiBus
• Ameya Sood, associate VP (product) at ixigo
• Abhishek Bhasin, director (brand & app performance marketing) at MakeMyTrip
• Pramod N, VP (head of product and data science) at Rapido 

Navigating The Customer Experience Matrix In Travel And Mobility

The travel and mobility space is undergoing a major change thanks to the rise of Gen Z. This new-age consumer class values instant gratification, looks for asset-light consumption (renting over owning) and prefers flexible payment methods like BNPL. Per a June 2024 PYMNTS report, nearly 50% of Gen Z and millennial consumers used BNPL in the past 12 months, and 63% of them cited better control on cash flow as an important reason for their choice.

The BNPL market size is estimated to reach $122.8 Bn by 2031, but there is no set usage pattern in a diverse market like India. Newer payment solutions like UPI and BNPL have not wiped out cash or traditional plastic money (credit and debit cards), although new-age consumers rarely carry physical cards. Nevertheless, travel and mobility businesses will do well to cater to all payment preferences if they do not want to overwhelm not-too-tech-savvy customer cohorts.      

Bhasin of MakeMyTrip narrated a use case where a payment service was designed to enhance customer experience. “We focus on being proactive and recently launched a product called Visa Rejection. It provides a 100% refund on flight tickets if your visa is rejected.” 

The product meets customer requirements in unforeseen circumstances. The goal is always to stay ahead of the curve and come up with solutions that consumers may not even realise they need, he added.

According to Sood of ixigo, when customers hit the pay button, they are at the final stage of their journey. Therefore, any friction at this point is bound to impact CX metrics. 

“At ixigo, we rely entirely on digital payments. It is the last stage of the [sales] funnel and extremely critical for our LOBs (lines of business). Our payment solutions must ensure that a user making it to the payment stage has a zero-friction experience,” he said.  

To know how consumer brands master seamless payment experiences and enhance customer satisfaction, watch the Inc42-Simpl panel discussion – How Seamless Payments Are Reshaping Travel & Mobility, Taking CX A Notch Up. 

The post How Seamless Payments Are Reshaping Travel & Mobility, Taking CX A Notch Up appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In a connected world, smart mobility is critical for road safety, operational efficiency and productivity growth. Fully autonomous vehicles with zero human interventions are no doubt the future of mobility. But for now, the automotive dialogue revolves around integrated communications technologies powered by AI/ML-based sensor devices, and energy efficiency for a sustainable future. 

Capturing real-time data on traffic, road conditions and driver’s behaviour through multiple cameras, quickly analysing the same to understand if all is well and promptly conveying it through tech alerts to truckers on the road is a smart system called ADAS (advanced driver assistance system), which is rapidly gaining traction. Set up in Bengaluru in 2015 by Avneesh Agrawal and David Julian, Netradyne is doing just that to bring down road accidents.

“We use IoT devices with multiple cameras [both road-facing and driver-facing] to track what’s happening on the ground. The data collected goes to cloud storage, where our patented algorithms and edge computing analyse it, and alarms are immediately raised [through a beep or audio]. These are industry-proven safety solutions for drivers and fleets, and we are keen to set up a new safe-driving standard for commercial vehicles,” explained Agrawal in a one-to-one interaction with Inc42.

Netradyne’s flagship product called Driver•i also extracts actionable insights from the data pulled and coaches truckers to improve their driving. This, in turn, reduces the number of accidents by 40-50%. 

If Netradyne has a humane mission – media reports say as many as 19 people die hourly in road accidents across India – one cannot undermine its economic impact, either. The financial burden of road accidents is often devastating, costing most countries 3-5% of their GDP.  

A Legacy Of Innovation & An AI-Driven Product For Ultimate Road Safety 

“Globally, the deeptech ecosystem is fairly mature, and the US has taken the lead. We also operate from San Diego, essentially propagating that strong legacy. Our company is a proud contributor at every stage. On the other hand, India is critical for Netradyne’s R&D play. All our devices are manufactured here,” said Agrawal. 

Besides India and the US, the startup operates in six more countries, including the UK, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, and employs 800+ people globally. Additionally, it is exploring GenAI to enhance its products, as this new technology segment holds immense potential for R&D and on-road safety. 

For instance, Netradyne will increase its training ability by leveraging cutting-edge tech. Although the startup analyses 600Mn miles of driving data every month, the founder-CEO now aims to invest heavily in R&D and amp up its GenAI usage to detect accident risks accurately.

“We are building a model to predict what every agent on the road will do in the next few seconds. We can predict with interesting and uncanny accuracy how pedestrians will move. Once you start making such predictions, it’s no longer a leap of faith to surmise that we can design our algorithms to be extremely safe and guide the drivers,” he explained.

India Has Got Talent, So Netradyne Is Building In India For The World

Agrawal is also enthusiastic about India’s diverse talent pool. “I believe that the Indian ecosystem is adding up and maturing. A significant part of our complex value chain, including the design, hardware, AI and cloud computing, has been developed and manufactured in India for the rest of the world,” he added. 

Agrawal says the biggest transformation in deeptech is that smart people nowadays are more inclined to work in startups. This creates a deeptech ecosystem that fosters raw talent and innovation, leading to a dynamic and competitive tech landscape where companies are constantly innovating and evolving. 

Netradyne, too, plans to nurture talent by ensuring that its employees have access to cutting-edge technology and value-added resources. This will strengthen its position as a leading startup and contribute significantly to the growth of technology in India and beyond. 

To explore how Netradyne is powering next-gen smart mobility, watch this discussion with Avneesh Agrawal.

The post Putting India On The Deeptech Map: How Netradyne Technology Is Powering Next-Gen Smart Mobility appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Today’s business environment demands strategic agility from companies, the power to think outside the box, thrive amid disruptions and stay ahead of the curve through constant innovation. This has ignited a technology revolution, with artificial intelligence (AI) and automation rapidly taking over various aspects of business operations.

However, the advantages of speed, flexibility and a fresh perception are mostly embraced by two categories – deep-pocketed design thinkers with a penchant for winning at any cost and the new kids on the block, young startups requiring business transformation for cost-cutting, scalability and success. 

For those in the middle – micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs) – digitalisation, or any other tech advancement, brings a sense of uneasy familiarity. They continue to struggle with time-consuming manual processes due to their entrenched reliance on ‘that’s how it works’.

But the times are changing, and many SaaS (software-as-a-service) platforms have entered the fray to help improve the business performance of small and medium enterprises. 

“Our vision is to become the de-facto cloud-based system for the maximum number of MSMEs,” Unesync’s cofounder and CEO Rohan Chopra told Inc42 in a recent interview.

Unesync aims to do so “by becoming the go-to financial tool that completes the automation trifecta, including banking, accounting and compliance”, according to Chopra.

Set up in 2023 by Chopra and Ujjwal Agarwal, the Gurugram-based fintech SaaS platform offers a robust suite of accounting solutions, such as GST-compliant e-invoice and e-bill generation and developing insightful financial reports.

The startup further aims to digitalise India’s MSMEs, targeting an ecosystem featuring 63 Mn ventures or thereabouts.

“Today, nearly 50% of all GST-registered businesses are disconnected from the technology landscape,” said Chopra, underscoring the huge opportunity. “This is the market most fintech (SaaS) players are addressing now.”

Consequently, the fintech SaaS space shows promising growth potential in India. A report by Inc42 also estimates that the market is set to surge from $4.6 Bn in 2022 to $31 Bn in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 27%.

Chopra also thinks fintech SaaS should explore niche, specialised use cases to cater to the diverse requirements of small and medium businesses. As Unesync’s custom connectors function as gateways, allowing developers to build on top of the platform, the startup can develop solutions for different industry segments. 

Talking about use cases, Chopra said, “People have used them [custom connectors] to streamline BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) registration or even automate e-waste recycling directly from their inventory, a crucial practice that is now mandatory.”

Can fintech SaaS solve the growth challenges of India’s SMEs/MSMEs? 

Watch Rohan Chopra of Unesync decode the potential of fintech SaaS, how one can tailor it for diverse requirements, its adoption challenges and more.

The post How Unesync Is Supercharging Small and Medium Businesses In India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are pivotal in reducing air pollution, tackling planet warming and lowering fossil fuel dependency. Given these sustainable, eco-friendly advantages, the Indian EV market anticipates significant growth, with projections reaching $110.7 Bn by 2029. As the transition from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles to green mobility unfolds, data-driven strategies become critical for maximising EV benefits across the rapidly evolving industry landscape.

But how does data analytics help scale EV services and maximise vehicle performances? After live data is captured, advanced algorithms analyse crucial metrics such as battery efficiency, vehicle range, charging patterns and energy consumption to develop predictive models that can help eliminate operational challenges.

To understand and navigate the intricacies of a data-driven approach within the EV ecosystem, Inc42 and Qlik (a data analytics platform set up in Sweden and now based in the US) organised a panel discussion titled How EV Startups Can Leverage Data Analytics To Revolutionise $110 Bn+ Industry. 

The session covered a number of critical topics, including:

• The importance of data analytics in optimising EV performance & driving efficiency
• The benefits of data-driven fleet management for EV operations
• How data analytics ensures improved customer experience

Moderated by Himanshu Ghawri, Partner at PwC, the roundtable brought together leaders from various EV startups. Among them were Shashank Sathe, CTO at Magenta Mobility; Amitabh Saran, founder & CEO of Altigreen Propulsion Labs; Jaideep Dhok, head of data at Yulu; Ankit Mogra, director (insights & analytics) at Ather Energy; Kumar Prasad Telikepalli, cofounder & group CTO of Matter, and Rishi Beri, automotive sales head at Qlik India.

Data Is Steering The EV Market Forward

The future of electric vehicles is increasingly shaped by data-informed decision-making. A major source of this data is telematics systems embedded in EVs, turning them into mobile information hubs.

For instance, telematics data is a potent tool widely used across industries and applications, including automotive, logistics, transportation and fleet management, insurance and more. Vehicular telematics can collect a wealth of data, including usage, direction, current location, engine health, charge status and battery temperature. 

This comprehensive data is then analysed to identify anomalies, enhance battery performance through efficient charge cycles and mitigate degradation. Besides early detection of potential issues and the corrective measures that EV manufacturers can adopt, telematics data also helps fleet operators manage their resources efficiently and assess driving patterns and drivers’ behaviour. 

“Once we have telematics data, we can use it for proactive alerts. In fact, some of the most important vehicle control features are often managed [remotely] through the telematics dashboard,” explained Shashank Sathe of Magenta Mobility. “Think of fleet operations. In case there’s a driver misuse or one leaves the geofencing area of the commute, we receive a proactive alert. A remote immobilising feature gives us time to stop the vehicle anywhere, reach out to the driver and resolve issues.” 

Data insights not only ensure strategic decision-making in fleet operations but also play a crucial role in enhancing customer experience. Understanding customer preferences through data analytics helps manufacturers tailor their services, thus increasing customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. 

“Today, customer interaction with a brand/company has become very complicated,” said Ankit Mogra of Ather Energy. “If a person buys our vehicle from a big town and takes it to a small town, he is happy (maybe because it is an aspirational purchase). But another challenge comes up immediately. How will they get the servicing done? So, [alongside telematics], we use geospatial analytics to deliver a vehicle and plan for services even before the customer requires it at that location.” 

That’s the beauty of data in a digital-first era. Apart from best-possible operations at the vehicular level, many companies are now looking at data-driven intelligent charging networks (call it infrastructure planning, if you want) to do away with range anxiety for good. 

To better understand how data is shaping the future of green mobility, watch the Inc42-Qlik panel discussion – How EV Startups Can Leverage Data Analytics To Revolutionise $110 Bn+ Industry.

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The buzz surrounding generative AI (GenAI) is palpable, with experts weighing its advantages and disadvantages, predominantly focussing on the benefits, given ChatGPT’s demonstrated utility across various industries. Undoubtedly, it has significantly propelled the growth of the startup ecosystem, while also carving out a lucrative market for itself.

In today’s landscape, GenAI boasts sector-agnostic use cases, from sorting emails in edtech to detecting fraud in fintech, enabling startups across all industries to streamline their operations and technology deployment. Consequently, the GenAI market in India is projected to surge from $1.1 Bn in 2023 to $17 Bn by 2030.

However, what is interesting is the use of GenAI in data strategy. For the uninitiated, data strategy is paramount for informed decision-making, it enhances understanding of customers for improved CX, product development and innovation, optimising marketing efforts and mitigating risks.

By strategising data effectively, startups can gain a competitive edge and navigate uncertainties in the dynamic business environment. Now imagine combining data strategy with the power of GenAI to reach the growth potential.

To decode how startups can combine GenAI with data strategy, Inc42 and Databricks, a unified, open analytics platform, organised a roundtable titled “The GenAI Advantage: How GenAI Can Help Startups Reshape Data Strategies” as part of 2-part series — Executive Boardroom: Laying The Foundation For Data & AI-Led Growth.

The session covered many critical topics, including:

• Generative AI’s role in expanding startup operations
• How generative AI is influencing decision-making processes for startups
• Will generative AI replace jobs?

Moderated by Prashant Garg, a partner at EY, the roundtable brought together leaders from startups across sectors such as — edtech, B2B marketplaces, 3PL, lending tech, deeptech and more. Among them were Aman Arora, cofounder & chief technology officer of Leverage Edu; Sudhir Singh, chief technology officer of Droom; Amit Choudhary, chief product and technology officer of Ecom Express; Shiva Singh, director of technology at Moglix; Rajesh Ramdas, senior director-field engineering at Databricks; Hemant Mongia, vice-president of engineering at BharatPe; Shalabh Aggarwal, chief technology officer of CredFlow; Ankit Ladhania, director of engineering at Park+ and Rahul Prasad, cofounder & chief technology officer of Bobble AI.

GenAI In Action: Enhancing Data Strategies Across Sectors

Speaking during the discussion, Gurugram-based Ecom Express’ Choudhary revealed that the logistics startup has created an address large language model to reduce return to origin (RTO) cases and predict the right addresses. He claimed that GenAI helped the company increase its topline with the help of GenAI.

Meanwhile, lending tech startup CredFLow has deployed GenAI to identify user patterns and engage with the users who take loan credit from the startup.

The startup’s CTO Aggarwal said, “By utilising GenAI the startup can detect the fraudster move of the user six months ahead. He added that it is possible as it analyses user data like criminal records, EPF, income tax statements, and GST records (via MasterGST).”

While these businesses have effectively used GenAI because of its affordability, its adoption is perceived as a job-replacement threat.

Rahul Prasad chuckled, “It might, we don’t know.” He pointed out that it is still in its nascent stage to come up with any conclusion.

To explore how startups in sectors like fintech, ecommerce, edtech and more are combining data and GenAI to make key business decisions, watch the Inc42 and Databricks roundtable — The GenAI Advantage: How GenAI Can Help Startups Reshape Data Strategies.

The post The GenAI Advantage: How GenAI Can Help Startups Reshape Data Strategies appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Time and again, we have come across iconic superheroes providing ‘deliverance’ and revitalising humankind. But few ‘Dark Knights’ have defended ‘data’ as the world and its businesses undergo a digital transformation.

That’s because data governance (DG), a set of policies, processes and metrics to manage data across an organisation, is too complex a subject to make it to the reel world (fictional hackers and their nefarious projects are far more intriguing). So are fast-evolving compliance regulations, proactive risk management and the data-driven scaling model often pursued by aspiring startups.

However, the ‘guardians of data’ – CTOs, data scientists, compliance specialists and data protection officers – continue to play a pivotal role. They help businesses navigate the intricacies of data privacy, security and usability to optimise operations and ensure sound decision-making. 

As data frameworks are the backbone of tech-driven companies and digital-first economies, these talking points are also impacting consumer mindsets. For instance, 68% of consumers trust businesses, which are transparent about their data privacy frameworks, according to a recent EY survey. On the other hand, 50% of the companies surveyed are yet to acquire relevant skills, although they are open to outsourcing data privacy tasks.

To dive deep into data governance and enable startups to design effective data management programmes for scaling up while maintaining data integrity, Inc42 and Databricks, a unified, open analytics platform, organised a roundtable titled How Data Governance Can Help Indian Startups Establish Data Integrity & Scale Up Safely  under their 2-part series called Executive Boardroom: Laying The Foundation For Data & AI-Led Growth.

The session covered many critical topics, including:

• Avenues of data governance for early stage startups
• Decoding the impact of India’s data policies on startups
• Key criteria for selecting a data platform

The roundtable brought together a host of tech decision-makers and industry leaders specialising in data protection, security and data-driven growth. Among them were Praveen Kumar Kalwagadda, vice-president of engineering at Cashfree Payments; Ankit Choudhary, head of data practices at Shadowfax; Vikas Garikipati, director of product at LetsTransport; Sagar Kumar, head of engineering (payments) at PayU; Rizurekh Saha, head of product (automation and generative Al) at Yellow.ai; Vinay Rai, senior vice-president of cloud and engineering at Netradyne; Ved Antani, chief product and technology officer at BetterPlace; Krithika Muthukrishnan, chief data science officer at Scripbox; Shriharsha Prakash, vice-president of cloud operations and security at LeadSquared, and Pramod Rajagopal, head of solutions architecture at Databricks.

The session was moderated by Abhinav Johri, a partner at EY. He is responsible for the development and activation of cloud and digital solutions and also manages P&L (profit and loss) in those areas.

How Custodians Of Data Can Steer Startups Towards Data Best Practices

Technology decision-makers at early stage startups typically focus on product-market fits and go-to-market strategies. However, setting up a robust data governance framework from the beginning is crucial as the complexities of data management increase when an organisation scales up.

“For a young startup, a zero-trust (never trust, always verify) model for access and application from the start is crucial. Retrofitting such models into your platform becomes challenging when you achieve significant scale,” said Ved Antani of BetterPlace.

Startups should also stay abreast of critical data protection regulations, such as the (EU) GDPR and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, passed in 2023 by the Indian government, besides industry-specific rules and guidelines. Knowing these regulations inside out is vital for ensuring compliance and winning stakeholders’ trust.

Selecting the right data platform is extremely important for startups to achieve this. Platform providers should also follow these stringent measures to meet the demands of the ‘data guardians’ across the startup ecosystem.

“If you are a platform provider but not attentive to real-world problems faced by your end customers, if you are building features and functionality solely based on your perception rather than what truly matters to them, it becomes a potential pitfall,” said Pramod Rajagopal of Databricks.

To gain more insights into how to scale up businesses while staying compliant with data laws, watch the Inc42-Databricks roundtable titled How Data Governance Can Help Indian Startups Establish Data Integrity & Scale Up Safely.

The post How Data Governance Can Help Indian Startups Establish Data Integrity & Scale Up Safely appeared first on Inc42 Media.

From A-list celebrities throwing their weight behind direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands to legacy players entering the dynamic world of D2C, today’s consumer brand landscape is experiencing transformative changes.

In this evolving landscape, more consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z, are prioritising convenience alongside selection and affordability. This shift is evident from the search to checkout and post-purchase stages, indicating a maturation in the online consumer journey. Customers now seek a premium experience throughout the entire value chain.

These rapid changes can also be attributed to the rising consumer demand for innovative and customised products, instant access to brands across channels and valuable product insights, often leading to the adoption of new brands. Together, these shifts in consumer behaviour have fuelled the overall D2C growth and pushed certain mass-appeal brands into the limelight.

A look at the market estimates further supports this breakthrough growth. By 2025, India’s total addressable D2C market is estimated to reach $100 Bn, a threefold increase from $33.1 Bn in 2020.

Amid the ongoing digital revolution in the consumer retail space, it is essential to explore the ‘core’ aspects of D2C businesses and look closely at ‘conversions’, a critical element contributing to the growth of D2C brands.

To understand and navigate the intricacies of conversion in the consumer brand landscape, Inc42 and Simpl organised a roundtable titled How D2C Brands Can Master The Conversion Game To Unlock Growth under the series – Consumer Brands Reimagined.

The session covered many critical topics, including:

• How D2C brands personalise users’ website journey
• How market trends impact product portfolio expansion
• How data and technology help streamline user experience

The roundtable brought together leaders from various consumer brands. Among them were Shreedha Singh, cofounder and CEO of The Ayurveda Company; Dhruv Madhok, cofounder of Arata; Kuldeep Parewa, founder and CEO of Anveshan; Aman Gupta, CMO at Farmley; Nihal Kalra, cofounder and CEO of The Decor Kart; Ravneesh Dhaneshwar, former director of growth at Earth Rhythm; Ankit Dass, founder and CEO of Zaydn Sneakers; Eshita Anil, head of performance marketing at boAt, and Shivam Dang, head of D2C growth at checkout network Simpl.

Digvijay Ghosh, a partner at EY-Parthenon, moderated the session. With 15 years of experience in the consumer product and retail industry, he is an expert in pushing the growth agenda for consumer brands by transforming their route-to-market and digital commerce capabilities.

Inside The Conversion Matrix: Strategies And Insights For D2C Success

In business and marketing, conversion serves as a critical outcome metric indicating specific and measurable actions by users. It signifies the achievement of a coveted goal, be it product purchase or active product engagement.

D2C brands employ diverse strategies to drive conversion, recognising that the goal goes beyond merely initiating transactions. It is all about achieving specific outcomes to ensure business success. Therefore, brands will meticulously refine UI/UX, personalise experiences and incentivise users with deals, discounts and loyalty programmes.

“We ran a campaign called ‘build your own bundle’, allowing customers to buy three or four different products. However, customers could purchase only one product from a specific category/range. If a shopper buys four products from four different categories and spends, say, INR 1,099 [instead of getting just one for the same price], chances are at least one or two products will stick in that household, and conversion will rise,” said Dhruv Madhok of Arata.

However, there are conversion loopholes within the current system.

“For example, in a typical checkout system, out of all the users 70% drop at the checkout due to friction while only 30% complete. You have to fill in long forms every time you visit the same website because there is no personalisation, and it takes three to five minutes on average,” said Shivam Dang of Simpl.

“Just improving the checkout experience with a single sign-on can work wonders. Marketplaces have set the standards for this. Your address and card details are saved whenever you enter a marketplace. Why can’t we do the same on D2C websites?” he queried.

To explore the key factors driving conversion in the D2C space, from digital display to product portfolio mix, omnichannel commerce to data-driven insights and technology impact, Watch the Inc42-Simpl roundtable — How D2C Brands Can Master The Conversion Game To Unlock Growth.

The post How D2C Brands Can Master The Conversion Game To Unlock Growth appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The world is still recovering from the crazy days when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired after a board coup and rehired after staff support and a nudge from its biggest investor, Microsoft. Ironically, the chaos that ensued is part of the massive disruption triggered by generative AI (GenAI). 

Unlike traditional artificial intelligence that mostly makes sense of large amounts of data, the ‘generative’ power of the new AI threatens to topple the innovation landscape, work processes and the entire economy. In essence, most businesses and industries are left gasping by its potential impact on manufacturing and services, productivity and efficiency as the next epoch of enterprise revolution takes over.

While business leaders try to assess the overall impact of GenAI, India has geared up fast to become a part of the new ecosystem. The country boasts more than 70 native GenAI startups backed by 80+ Indian institutional investors and $440 Mn+ in funding since 2019. And here’s the cherry on the top – Adobe recently acquired Bengaluru-based AI video creation platform Rephrase.ai. India’s generative AI market, valued at more than $17 Bn, is undoubtedly making its mark.

To dive deep into the nuances of the ongoing tech revolution and address the concerns of industry stakeholders, Inc42 and Google Cloud organised a roundtable titled Generative AI, Cloud And Startups: A Power Trio Redefining India’s Techscape!

The session covered various critical topics, including:

• Decoding the real-world impact of GenAI
• Strategies to tackle market-entry challenges posed by generative AI
• Navigating the changing landscape of workforce skills

The roundtable brought together technology decision-makers from diverse industry segments. Among them were Avneesh Goel, SVP (product & technology) at Awfis; Prince Singh, house owner (product) at OneBanc; CredFlow CTO Shalabh Aggarwal; Nitin Jain, cofounder & CBO at Oxyzo; Rajan Nagina, head of AI practice at Newgen Software; Deepak Mishra, VP (data science) at FarMart; Naman Khator, lead of solutions architect at QueueBuster; Souparno Bagchi, COO at BalanceHero India, and Gurpiar Sibia, head of customer engineering at Google Cloud. 

The session was moderated by Vishal Agarwal, partner at EY and currently leading its data analytics practice. 

The Road Ahead: Embracing GenAI Opportunities And Navigating Challenges

In the past decades, cloud technology has transformed how startups and enterprises work, scaling up operations, unlocking innovations and accelerating business success. Within India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem, ranked third globally behind the US and China, cloud-native startups have emerged as a global SaaS (software as a service) hub and rapidly expanded into critical areas like IaaS (infrastructure as a service), PaaS (platform as a service) and BaaS (banking as a service).

Per a Bessemer Venture Partners report, among the VC-funded Indian startups in 2022, 20%, or 468, were cloud and SaaS entities. Cloud spending also grew by nearly 22% that year, almost equal to the entire continent of Europe. This indicates how cloud computing, in its many avatars, is rising even when the funding winter has paused frenzied growth activities across the ecosystem.

Interestingly, artificial intelligence (AI) has been an innovative component in cloud play for service enhancements. Now, the country’s mature tech ecosystem is breaking frontiers to become a part of the ongoing tech revolution – generative AI.

“I am most excited about the rise in productivity that it [GenAI] ensures across different divisions of an organisation, be it marketing, content or [software] development. And I think that is perhaps the most mature use case right now where the risk is under our control,” said Deepak Mishra of FarMart.

But adopting technology can be challenging, be it a decades-old ecosystem like enterprise cloud or the latest GenAI breakthrough. For instance, a significant concern in an ML-driven tech landscape is model collapse. This occurs when an AI model trained on synthetic data generates progressively less diverse and more repetitive outputs (even LLM or large language models can fall prey to it).

“I think we cannot let go of the human angle around it, and that applies to everything AI. If we allow AI to learn from itself [and create], it will eventually lead to a self-collapse,” said Shalabh Aggarwal, CTO of CredFlow.

Watch the roundtable titled Generative AI, Cloud And Startups: A Power Trio Redefining India’s Techscape to gain more insights.

The post Generative AI, Cloud And Startups: A Power Trio Redefining India’s Techscape! appeared first on Inc42 Media.