Manish Singhal, Managing Partner of Pi Ventures on India's Deep Tech Scene

Manish Singhal (https://www.linkedin.com/in/smanishsinghal/) is the founding partner of pi Ventures (piventures.in), a $30 million early stage deep tech fund based in Bangalore. Before founding Pi Ventures in 2016 as one of the very first AI-focused funds, he has worked for over 2 decades in R&D, product and general management roles in global companies creating video technologies and consumer electronics, including Motorola and Sling Media. This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminjoffe/), Partner at SOSV (https://podcast.ausha.co/lab-to-market/www.sosv.com), a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (https://podcast.ausha.co/lab-to-market/www.hax.co) (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (https://podcast.ausha.co/lab-to-market/indiebio.co) (life sciences). In this episode, Manish talks about: The growing local deep tech scene How pi Ventures met over 1,100 companies over 3 years to make 11 investments The attractive opportunities in the market His approach to deep tech investment and 'bottom-up investing' The problem with asking experts who are naturally skeptical Why India is a great place to build healthcare startups The left shift of the flatter S-curve in deep tech The cultural shift in the acceptance of startups The emergence of global players Made in India. Resources & Companies Mentioned: Manish's article on the Indian Deep Tech startup ecosystem (Medium (https://medium.com/@manish_87022/deep-end-of-deep-tech-next-frontier-for-indian-startup-eco-system-e4c5a87b54b9)) Pandorum Technologies (http://www.pandorumtechnologies.com): artificial cornea Niramai (www.niramai.com): non-invasive detection of breast cancer (coverage in Entrepreneur (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/347257)) Agnikul (www.agnikul.in/): low-cost space launchers (coverage in Inc42 (https://inc42.com/buzz/spacetech-startup-agnikul-raises-pre-series-a-funding-led-by-pi-ventures/)) Locus (https://locus.sh): supply chain decision-making engine Wysa (https://www.wysa.io): AI Chat for mental health that makes you feel heard Raybaby (https://www.raybaby.us): advanced non-contact baby monitor that detects breathing Cradlewise (https://cradlewise.com): smart crib that detects wake-up and soothes the baby to sleep Unbox Robotics (https://unboxrobotics.com): robots for package sorting