Instinct seems so cool. Wondering why this couldn’t be built in India. Swiggy’s Crew was probably well positioned here. Really want more such innovations to come out of India. What needs to change?

Risk factors are always the first section I read in an IPO filing. Anthropic's runs into 80 of its 261 pages 👀 Usually it's customer concentration, key-person risk, a pending tax notice etc. Anthropic’s is different: - It warns that its own models could resist shutdown, hide information or act on their own at scale - It says those models now write much of its code and safety research. - It even warns that no insurer may be big enough to cover a catastrophic AI incident. Anthropic is telling investors, in writing, that its product could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity." As a retail investor - Appreciate the honesty. Not sure how a price it in though 😅

Said this about food brands last night. Looks like it holds beyond food too. Fix-my-curls found that shoppers weren't adding an 800 Rs bottle to their scarts. So they made Rs 150-300 trial packs for Blinkit. Quick commerce is fast becoming the best sampling counter for new age brands.

Having worked at a VC fund before starting up, I will take the unpopular side of this one. VCs take as much risk as exits allow. In India and US alike. That's pretty much it. For a decade, exits were the big unanswered question in India. And that risk got priced in. The good news? This is changing fast, thanks to our public markets. In 2025 alone, Indian VCs generated ~USD 9 Bn of liquidity through IPOs. I strongly believe that risk appetite will follow the exits. Excited about the next decade of VC-backed innovation in India 🚀

Boy: Do not try and build the moat. That's impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth. Neo: What truth? Boy: There is no moat. Neo: There is no moat? Boy: Then you'll see, that it is not the moat that builds, it is only yourself. (More profound than you’d think)

Blinkit announced that it will operate a network of 5000 dark stores by 2028. All I can think about is how much more working capital will get stuck for consumer brands.

Feb 2021. The Pant Project was barely 3 months old when Dhruv applied to Velocity - maybe purely out of curiosity. Back then I did the diligence calls myself. Ended up having a great chat. Solid founder, manufacturing background, now building a product he would proudly wear himself. I was wow-ed on the call itself. The Pant Project holds a special place in Velocity’s journey because it really pushed the boundaries for us in multiple ways: - It was the youngest company we funded - It was the fastest disbursal we had done - It was the steepest jump in our top up financing amount because of how fast they grew - It made us rethink and revamp our financing model for fast growing brands The best part was at the end of the call. Dhruv asked if his family office could invest in Velocity. I would have definitely made the counter if equity funding was within our scope 😄 This week they raised Rs 109 Cr in their Series B to take stores from 25 to 150! Congrats @dhruv_toshniwal and Udit! It has truly been a joy seeing The Pant Project grow from strength to strength. We are proud to have played a small role in your growth journey and thankful for all conversations we have had over the years. Onwards and upwards! 🚀🚀

Spend less time convincing people, more time finding people who are already convinced. D2C version 👇

Dont @ me but Claude is a lot more annoying than Grok bot.

Reports say Shop Pay is coming to India. I always felt Shopify could easily do this here. Saved address and one-click checkout is almost a toggle for them. But checkout in India was never just about address pre-fill. It's about which COD order should ship at all. That's the harder problem. Waiting to see how they take it on.

In India we call this a “WhatsApp relationship” Signals trust, approachability and responsiveness. No better way to say - I am just a message away.

Strange that none of these are more than 50%. The right messages here should be: - 56% respondents said that AI DID NOT help me find better value for money - 59% said that I would not consider buying products recommended by AI - 61% said that AI recommendations make me less likely to complete - 66% said that I would not pay more a product if AI showed it The main problem that AI is yet to solve when it comes to shopping recommendations is building trust. Who is solving that? And how?

Can’t understand why people are getting Grok Bot emails that match their own names. Won’t it be weird if your EA impersonates you? So I decided to give mine a name. Turned out to be the same search process as naming a kid, since you only get the email once! 🤪 Calling her Sifra. Super Intelligent, Friendly and Resourceful Assistant. Hope she lives up to her name! 👌

The gap vs GAAP has widened into a valley

Blackstone's Jon Gray says India is probably the easiest place to list a company after the US and people here dont fully appreciate how strong our capital markets have become. Just look at the IPO calendar this month (Zetwerk, Jio!) Exits were such a big question for the ecosystem just 5 years back. Next round gets easier for everyone if investors know they can exit through an IPO. If investors weren't distracted by the AI gold rush, this by itself would have been a massive unlock for founders building in India. All in good time, I guess.