Naval and Nivi sit down with Guillermo Rauch (Vercel), Blake Scholl (Boom Supersonic), and Max Hodak (Science) on AI as the next industrial revolution. The conversation covers software factories and waste tokens, vibe coding hardware (Blake's turbine blade), the regulatory frontier (why China's FDA is beating ours), and the autonomous company (what it means when your job becomes training the agent). Worth watching for how three founders building in very different stacks converge on the same questions.
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Pune
2 upcoming events
Next: FailCode Pune: Failure lessons from startups and operators tomorrow
What's already happened
See gallery →sat
20
jun
How Founders & Operators Use AI | Pune
Founders and operators on the AI tools they actually use.
P
T
Aaleen, Psaxena + 5
went
sat
13
jun
Pune Startup Meetup
S
R
A
Sparsh, Ronit + 9
went
sat
13
jun
Scaling Food Brands: Growth, Franchising, and Operations - Pune Edition
S
K
Chaitanya, Selina + 10
went
People from Pune on the network, plus folks from elsewhere who've shown up at an event here.
Ahmedabad
Jatin Chaudhary
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder, Bootstrapped and Profitable, in Media / creator.
Building eChai.Ventures
Hoping to meet
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- Product leaders
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
Abhishek Pillai
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder and Agency, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in SaaS + B2B / enterprise + AI/ML.
Building We build for the overlooked middle — 50-to-800-person operations firms. Some need GenAI, some need their data untangled, some just need an app that replaces 14 spreadsheets. We do all four, AI just happens to be the loudest one right now.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- Partners for my services or agency
- People obsessed with AI workflows
A
Abhishek
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea), Idea stage, in B2B / enterprise + D2C / consumer + Agritech.
Hoping to meet
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Vetted service providers (design, dev, legal)
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Founders & operators in my city
Aayush Arora
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder and Engineer / builder, Bootstrapped and Profitable, in SaaS + Vertical SaaS + Edtech.
Hoping to meet
- A co-founder
- Founders with US / global reach
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
- Founders & operators in my city
Pune
Neha Gosavi
From Pune · attended events here
Looking for: Startup opportunities, internships/full-time roles, networking with founders, Idea stage and Exploring the startup ecosystem and looking for opportunities to contribute to an early-stage team., backing Pre-seed / seed and Angel, in AI/ML and DevTools / infra.
Building I'm interested in working with early-stage startups. I'm here to meet founders, learn how startups operate, and explore opportunities where I can contribute.
Hoping to meet
- I'm hoping to connect with founders, learn how early-stage startups are built, and explore opportunities to contribute to a growing team.
Uday Tamrakar
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in SaaS + B2B / enterprise + Martech.
Building Helping Brands Win in AI Search.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- Enterprise / GCC buyer intros
- Growth & marketing leaders
Pune
Chaitanya Badave
From Pune · attended events here
Founder, Bootstrapped, in SaaS and Marketplace.
Building Building Grab Or Miss, a community & platform that helps people save money on SaaS while helping founders get discovered.
Hoping to meet
- Founders past $1M ARR
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Founders & operators in my city
K
Kapil Joshi
Attended events in Pune
Founder, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in SaaS + B2B / enterprise + Deeptech.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- Enterprise / GCC buyer intros
Vignesh Chillale
Attended events in Pune
Building on the side and Founder's Office, Seed, backing Strategic / corporate, in B2B / enterprise + AI/ML + Productivity.
Hoping to meet
- Partners for my services or agency
- Founders with US / global reach
- Growth & marketing leaders
- Founders & operators in my city
- Networking
- Ideas
Prajval Rasik
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea) and Engineer / builder.
Hoping to meet
- A co-founder
- People obsessed with AI workflows
Pune
Pramod Khot
From Pune · attended events here
Founder, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in D2C / consumer and Media / creator.
Building Building KathaKar, a multilingual story app for Indian readers. The tech is shipped. Now figuring out how to get the first 1,000 writers to publish on it — that's the hard part.
Hoping to meet
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- Product leaders
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
N
Naman Sahgal
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea), Idea stage, in Fintech and B2B / enterprise.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- A co-founder
- People obsessed with AI workflows
Prasanna Walimbe
Attended events in Pune
Investor / angel and Educator / mentor, Acquired / exited, backing Angel, in Fintech + Insurtech + Climate / clean energy.
Hoping to meet
- Startups to invest in
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Founders & operators in my city
Prashant Kadam
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea) and Engineer / builder, Idea stage, in SaaS.
Hoping to meet
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- Product leaders
- Growth & marketing leaders
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
S
Sapkale Nishant
Attended events in Pune
Founder and Solo founder, Idea stage and Pre-product (building), in Agritech.
Pune
Divyaprasad Pande
From Pune · attended events here
Solo founder and Advisor, in SaaS + Vertical SaaS + B2B / enterprise.
Building A growth-focused marketing engine that helps tech startups, SaaS, and B2B companies generate demand, accelerate revenue, and scale efficiently through AI-powered marketing strategies. 🚀
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Founders past $1M ARR
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Founders & operators in my city
Pune
Akshay Sapar
From Pune · attended events here
Founder, Idea stage and Pre-product (building).
Building Building an AI assistant designed to simplify and ease daily life for busy parents by streamlining and organizing everyday family logistics and communications.
Hoping to meet
- People obsessed with AI workflows & Founders in my city.
Pune
Akshay Singh
From Pune
Co-founder, Pre-product (building) and Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, backing Pre-seed / seed, in SaaS and B2B / enterprise.
Building SmartCheckIn, a hospitality SaaS platform that enables QR-based and pre-arrival digital check-ins, guest data collection, compliance-ready reports and automated guest reviews. Helping hotels reduce paperwork, save time, and deliver a better guest experience.
Hoping to meet
- Partners for my services or agency
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Growth & marketing leaders
K
Kiran Nandi
Attended events in Pune
Founder, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in B2B / enterprise + AI/ML + DevTools / infra.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
S
Srimathi Sridharan
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea).
Hoping to meet
- Founders past $1M ARR
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- Product leaders
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
T
Tasdiq S
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea) and Engineer / builder, Idea stage, in SaaS.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
P
Psaxena
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder and Building on the side, in AI/ML.
Hoping to meet
- Partners for my services or agency
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
- Founders & operators in my city
Aaleen Mirza
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder and Engineer / builder, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in SaaS.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Product leaders
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
Nagpur
Apurvv Pakhmode
Attended events in Pune
Founder and Engineer / builder, Pre-seed, in SaaS + Marketplace + Proptech / real estate.
Building Building Preworks, a construction opportunity network for India. Millions of projects still begin through referrals, brokers and fragmented searches. We're creating a structured system where project demand connects with contractors, architects and designers at scale.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- Capital for my next round
- Partners for my services or agency
- A co-founder
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Founders & operators in my city
- angel Investor
U
Utkarsh Salunke
Attended events in Pune
Engineer / builder and Product (PM), Idea stage and Pre-product (building).
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- A co-founder
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Vetted service providers (design, dev, legal)
A
Achal Jain
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea), Idea stage, in SaaS + Healthtech + DevTools / infra.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- A co-founder
Sanika Gawali
Attended events in Pune
Building on the side, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in HR tech / future of work.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- Partners for my services or agency
- Founders & operators in my city
A
Anshul Jain
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder, Idea stage and Pre-revenue / pre-PMF, in Healthtech and Counselling.
Hoping to meet
- Startups to invest in
- Intros to paying customers
- Partners for my services or agency
- Growth & marketing leaders
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
R
Rohit Gadhave
Attended events in Pune
Solo founder and Engineer / builder, Idea stage, in Fintech + SaaS + DevTools / infra.
Hoping to meet
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
R
Rohit Katara
Attended events in Pune
Engineer / builder, in Fintech and SaaS.
Hoping to meet
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
Pune
Nikhil Oza
From Pune · attended events here
Founder, in Foodtech / F&B and D2C / consumer.
Building CEO and founder of MH12 Pav Bhaji. Also CFO at Bootstart Spaces & Hospitality.
Pune
Niraj Bora
From Pune · attended events here
Co-founder, in Foodtech / F&B and D2C / consumer.
Building Co-founder and CEO of Cheesiano Pizza, built under Turophile Foodworks. Growing a homegrown pizza brand across India.
D
Deepak Mahajani
Attended events in Pune
Hoping to meet
- New startup ideas
A
Arjun Shelar
Attended events in Pune
Solo founder, Pre-product (building) and Pre-seed, in Fintech + B2B / enterprise + Deeptech.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- A co-founder
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
Vedant Jadhav
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder and Engineer / builder, Idea stage and Pre-product (building), in Healthtech and Logistics / supply chain.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- Startups to invest in
- Partners for my services or agency
- Founders past $1M ARR
- Founders with US / global reach
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Founders & operators in my city
E
Pune
Eshaan Barge
From Pune · attended events here
Founder, Idea stage and Pre-product (building), in Healthtech and Logistics / supply chain.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- Startups to invest in
- Partners for my services or agency
- Senior hires for my team
- Founders past $1M ARR
- Founders with US / global reach
- Growth & marketing leaders
V
Vimal Patel
Attended events in Pune
Founder and Building on the side, Pre-product (building) and Acquired / exited, in Insurtech and E-commerce / retail.
R
Ronit N
Attended events in Pune
Solo founder, Bootstrapped, in Climate / clean energy.
Hoping to meet
- Startups to invest in
- Senior hires for my team
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
S
Sachin Shah
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder, Bootstrapped and Profitable, in Foodtech / F&B.
Hoping to meet
- Growing bhsiness
A
Aniket Korde
Attended events in Pune
Aspiring founder (exploring an idea) and Engineer / builder.
K
Kumodini Jagatkar
Attended events in Pune
Co-founder, Idea stage, in Foodtech / F&B.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
S
Selina Shrivastava
Attended events in Pune
Engineer / builder, Idea stage, in Fintech and Deeptech.
Hoping to meet
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
- Founders & operators in my city
S
Sanat Pawar
Attended events in Pune
Engineer / builder and Looking to join a startup.
Hoping to meet
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
Across eChai
Founders to meet
Founders from across eChai worth a hello, beyond Pune.
Ahmedabad
Anuj Dalal
Engineer / builder and Educator / mentor, Seed and Profitable, backing Pre-seed / seed and Strategic / corporate, in SaaS + D2C / consumer + E-commerce / retail.
Hoping to meet
- A co-founder
- Senior hires for my team
- A startup role I would love, at any kind
- Growth & marketing leaders
- Founders & operators in my city
Ahmedabad
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder, Bootstrapped and Profitable, backing Angel and Syndicate / scout, in Fintech + SaaS + Deeptech.
Building Transforming my legacy tech business, Upsquare Technologies, into a Lab that does experiments with Digital & Physical AI, Robotics, Reusable Systems, models & architectures.
Hoping to meet
- Startups to invest in
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- Product leaders
- Growth & marketing leaders
- Others in my exact role to swap notes with
- Founders & operators in my city
Ahmedabad
Jayesh Kadivar
Founder and Educator / mentor, Pre-revenue / pre-PMF and Pre-seed, in Healthtech + Deeptech + Mobility / EV.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- Startups to invest in
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Founders & operators in my city
Ahmedabad
Amish Trivedi
Co-founder, Pre-product (building), in SaaS + Vertical SaaS + AI/ML.
Hoping to meet
- Capital for my next round
- Growth & marketing leaders
- People obsessed with AI workflows
Ahmedabad
Rushabh Shah
Solo founder and Advisor, Profitable, backing Strategic / corporate, in Vertical SaaS + AI/ML + Deeptech.
Building Working on a lot of interesting tech projects, alongside the Investment Banking firm
Hoping to meet
- Enterprise / GCC buyer intros
- Partners for my services or agency
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- People obsessed with AI workflows
Ahmedabad
Nadeem Jafri
Entrepreneur | Startup Mentor | IIMA Guest Speaker | Speaker.
Hoping to meet
- Intros to paying customers
- Enterprise / GCC buyer intros
- Founders with US / global reach
- Bootstrapped, profitable founders
- Growth & marketing leaders
Ahmedabad
Nikita Lalwani
Founder, Pre-seed, in Healthtech.
Building Fitness community of 37K users, making fitness fun through Rewards, Challenges, and National Fitness Leagues backed by DST, IT Ministry, IIMA Ventures, i-Hub & Mahindra Rise. Now pivoting to B2B2C Corporate Fitness Leagues and urgently looking for a CTO / Tech Co-founder.
Hoping to meet
- Angel / seed investors for my startup
- Intros to paying customers
- A co-founder
- Founders past $1M ARR
- Engineering leaders / CTOs
- Growth & marketing leaders
- Co-founder
- Fundraising
- Distribution
Bengaluru
Harsha Bhurani
Founder, Bootstrapped, in HR tech / future of work.
Hoping to meet
- Founders & operators in my city
Network
Latest from the network
Stories, podcasts, and notes from across eChai. A few of the most recent. tap any one to read in full.
-
Naval and Nivi: The AI Industrial Revolution with Guillermo Rauch, Blake Scholl, Max Hodak
-
Nikunj Kothari built Nock: a Claude Code skill that pitches like him
Nikunj Kothari (partner at FPV Ventures) used Claude Code to build Nock, a personal skill grounded in his real conversations. He pulled 200+ founder pitch notes captured by Granola, narrowed to ~53 with the strongest debate, layered in his essays on the kind of founders he loves, then iterated against 5-10 real decks until the output matched what he'd actually ask in the room. Founders raising can try it at nikunjk.com/nock; VCs who want their own can build at nikunjk.com/buildnock.
-
Can Tech Legends Find the Liar? Mafia with Founders Fund
Founders Fund gathered Sam Altman, Palmer Luckey, Bryan Johnson, Dylan Field, Moxie Marlinspike, Tim Urban, Ryan Petersen, Liv Boeree, Cyan Banister, Trae Stephens, Josie Zayner, and Michael Solana for an evening of Mafia, the murder-mystery parlor game. Players are secretly assigned roles and must use deception and debate to eliminate the opposing team before they are outnumbered. Worth watching for how some of the sharpest people in tech read each other under pressure.
Also active in
See all →eChai Partner Brands
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner. Together we explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.
