Venkat Srinivasan

Managing Director

Innospark Ventures

Session

Navigating the Funding Landscape: Strategies for Startups

Start Time:

1:30 PM

Bio

Venkat Srinivasan is Managing Director at Innospark Ventures, a VC firm investing in early-stage AI startups. Venkat is a serial entrepreneur, having founded several AI-led startups including eCredit (acquired by ICG), Corporate Fundamentals, and Rage Frameworks (acquired by Genpact). More recently, he founded EnglishHelper (using AI to solve illiteracy at scale), Gyan.AI (first explainable natural language understanding engine), Creda Health (Digital Health Assistant for continuum of care) and PrismX (automated software development platform). Venkat holds 9 patents, has published over 30 research papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, has co-edited two books and is the author of a book titled, The Intelligent Enterprise in the Era of Big Data (Wiley, 2017). Venkat was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by TiE in 2017.

Topic:

AI Startups - Hype vs. Substance

There is little doubt that AI has penetrated the mainstream conscience, and that AI is here to stay. However, there is much hype and poor understanding of what it takes to succeed with an AI business. Venkat will focus on what it takes to succeed as an AI startup, both from the perspective of the entrepreneur and the investor. When it is a good time to get VC funding, what to expect from the VC, and what type of VC to approach - specialized vs broad, or other criteria to consider.