Behind the term sheets: Prime, Lightspeed, Together, and pi Ventures take on the AI 'hype vs real' debate at ET Soonicorns Summit 2025 - The Economic Times
The Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startup ecosystem is at a tipping point.
With every second pitch deck claiming to be ‘AI-powered,’ India’s top venture capitalists (VCs) are asking the hard question: Are we funding the future or falling for the hype?
This high-stakes debate will take centre stage at ET Soonicorns Summit 2025 on August 22 in Bengaluru, where some of India's most influential investors will dissect the AI investment landscape with unprecedented candour. The session ‘AI Investments in India—Chasing Hype Or Backing Real Disruption?’ promises to be one of the most anticipated conversations of the summit, featuring powerhouse VCs overseeing significant venture capital portfolios.
, Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners
, Partner, Lightspeed Ventures
, Founding Partner, pi Ventures
, CEO, Eka Software and Co-Founder, Together Fund
, General Partner, Athera Venture Partners
, Founder & CEO, Globals Inc
India’s AI startup ecosystem shows resilience as VCs maintain strong interest in application-layer companies, even as total funding dropped to $747 million in 2024—down 26% year-over-year, per data from Venture Intelligence. However, the deal count tells a different story, jumping to 121 transactions from 78 in 2023.
Concurrently, global tech behemoths such as Apple and Meta are accelerating their AI acquisition hunt, with Apple executives reportedly exploring a possible acquisition of AI startup Perplexity as part of their strategy to compete in the AI landscape.
As of now, Startup India recognises 154,719 startups across the country, including 2,915 focused on AI, which have together created 23,918 jobs.
However, beyond the numbers, the Indian AI investment landscape seems to be experiencing a fascinating schism that's keeping VCs awake at night.
On one side, ambitious founders are pitching foundation models and AI infrastructure plays—the ‘moonshot’ category that demands patient capital and technical prowess. On the other hand, applied AI startups promise quicker returns by solving industry-specific problems with proven AI applications.
With AI dominating global venture capital flows, Indian investors find themselves at a crossroads. Should they back ambitious deep-tech plays such as foundation models and AI infrastructure, or focus on applied AI startups solving industry-specific problems? The stakes couldn’t be higher—India’s AI market is projected to reach $17 billion by 2027, yet questions persist about whether Indian startups can compete globally with tech giants, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
The real differentiation, industry experts argue, lies in AI-first companies—those where AI isn’t just an add-on but the core product and value proposition. Are Indian VCs and unicorns placing strategic bets on companies that can build enduring moats, or are they caught in the hype cycle? This fundamental question will drive the conversation at the ET Soonicorns Summit 2025 under the first track: AI and Deep Tech Dominance.ture capital heavyweights bring battle-tested expertise
Sanjay Swamy, Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners; Hemant Mohapatra, Partner, Lightspeed Ventures; Manish Singhal, Founding Partner, pi Ventures; Manav Garg, CEO, Eka Software and Co-Founder, Together Fund; Rutvik Doshi, General Partner, Athera Venture Partners; and, Suhas Gopinath, Founder & CEO, Globals Inc will take to the opening session of the ET Soonicorns Summit 2025. Bringing complementary yet contrasting investment philosophies, these seasoned investors promise fireworks when they debate the future of AI investments in India.
Prime Venture Partners, known for early bets on unicorns such as Myntra and NoBroker, has consistently favoured startups with clear revenue models over pure technology plays. Their contrarian approach to AI investments challenges the “build first, monetise later” mindset prevalent in the space.
Lightspeed Venture Partners brings a global perspective with a $25B portfolio, notable early-stage bets in AI-enabled companies such as Snapchat and AppDynamics. Their significant investments in Indian startups give their judgment on sustainable AI firms considerable market influence.
pi Ventures stands out as one of India’s first deep-tech and AI-first VC funds, backing founders behind Agnikul Cosmos and SigTuple with a conviction in AI-first business models.
Together Fund’s operator-led approach emphasises practical, problem-solving AI—prioritising real-world traction over theoretical demos, which sets it apart from conventional pure-play funds.
Athera Venture Partners focuses on early to growth-stage AI and tech startups, and has co-led rounds for AI players such as Hyperbots and VuNet, providing valuable insights into scaling challenges beyond Series A.
Combined, these investors boast hundreds of AI bets, key exits, and rigorous evaluation frameworks. They consistently assess metrics like data quality, live model efficacy, and, more importantly, customer retention, which are seen as stronger signals of long-term AI startup success.
ET Special
The Economic Times Soonicorns Summit 2025, India’s largest gathering of soonicorns, returns to Bengaluru on August 22 for its fourth edition. This premier gathering brings together soonicorns—startups expected to reach unicorn status or $1 billion+ valuations soon—under the theme ‘From Research Labs to Revenue Models: The Billion-Dollar Blueprint for Scaling Indian AI Startups.’
As India’s startup ecosystem matures and AI becomes the defining growth engine, ET Soonicorns Summit 2025 serves as a strategic platform for founders, VCs, CTOs, and policymakers. The summit promises not just trends but actionable takeaways for anyone building the next AI unicorn or investing in India's deep-tech future.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. The country’s AI talent pool—estimated at over 400,000 professionals—represents a significant competitive advantage, but only if channelled into the right opportunities.
This isn’t just another tech conference; it’s where India's next AI unicorns are being built. The AI investment face-off featuring Prime, Lightspeed, pi Ventures, and Together Fund might just shape the blueprint that determines whether India becomes an AI powerhouse or remains a follower in the global AI race.
China directs roughly $16 billion annually into AI via government-led investment funds, while the United States continues to dominate global AI investment, raising $67 billion in private funding for AI startups in 2023. Against this backdrop, India cannot afford to misallocate VC capital in the race to build its own AI champions. The insights shared at this session could shape the future trajectory of Indian AI investments, making it essential viewing for anyone serious about India’s AI future.
For founders, investors, and AI enthusiasts, this summit represents the convergence of India’s brightest minds tackling the most pressing questions in AI entrepreneurship.
Registration for the ET Soonicorns Summit 2025 is now open with pricing at ₹20,000.
360 One Wealth is the presenting partner of the ET Soonicorns Summit 2025.
