Elevation Capital

✨𝗨𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 '𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮’ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 The consumer GenAI revolution is not just a global phenomenon. As the world's second-largest adopter of various GenAI platforms, India stands at the forefront of this technological wave. We believe India is poised to become a major player in the global GenAI consumer landscape. The combination of a large, young user base, increasing willingness to pay for digital services, and the emergence of innovative monetization models creates a fertile ground for startups here. We provided a snapshot of the current state of consumer-facing GenAI applications globally across mobile and web platforms in a recent report. Today, we are releasing its sequel - ‘GenAI in Consumer Applications: Our Thesis for India’. From content generation platforms to assisted shopping, we identified six exciting themes in the consumer GenAI applications space with immense potential for innovation. Each of these areas presents unique opportunities for founders to create value by leveraging GenAI technologies tailored to Indian users' needs and preferences. We present our reasons for excitement, along with global examples and emerging Indian players for each. View and download the complete deck here: https://lnkd.in/gAF_d2pQ If you're building in any of these exciting GenAI spaces or have innovative ideas here, we'd love to hear from you. Mukul Arora Mayank Khanduja Amit Aggarwal Manish Advani Harshit Jain Anoushka Arya

"Investing in governance is worth the long-term premium it offers" Mridul Arora (Partner, Elevation Capital) says that strong governance and regulatory compliance may come with upfront costs, but in trust-based industries, they lead to higher market valuations. Watch the complete investor roundtable discussion with Sandeep Jethwani (Co-founder, Dezerv) here: https://lnkd.in/e_teimmm

What an electrifying journey it’s been at our GameOn Hackathon! Supported by Epic Games, it brought together some of India’s brightest young developers to reimage gaming using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). The energy and creativity on display were truly inspiring as teams pushed boundaries, crafting innovative experiences that left us in awe. We saw firsthand how platforms like UEFN are democratizing game development and opening new avenues for talent to shine. What truly amazed us was the teams' ability to leverage UEFN’s vast capabilities to fine-tune their games in real-time. They improved gameplay mechanics, enhanced visual elements, and implemented entirely new features in a short span of a few hours based on the judges’ feedback. The quality of projects has filled us with confidence about the future of game development in India and the transformative potential of alternative distribution platforms in India and the world. These channels are reshaping the gaming and digital experience landscape, and we are eager to support forward-thinking teams that are capitalizing on such technological shifts. Visit https://lnkd.in/gpK9iw3S for event highlights, winner spotlights, and a closer look at the submissions of all finalists. Supreet Kaur Saishree Ashwin Arvind Neelakantan Zankhit Chawda Karan Parikh Manish Agarwal Mayank Khanduja Kshitij Jayakrishnan Rahul Humayun

Last week, the Fintech practice at Elevation Capital hosted the second annual Fintech PM Mixer in Bengaluru, bringing together more than 100 product managers from diverse fintech companies for an evening of vibrant discussions. Over the past decade, the role of product managers has evolved significantly, particularly in the context of working with multiple partners and growing collaborations between banks and fintechs. There is now an increasing need for peers to interact within this community for tactical tips and strategies in various areas. This event was our attempt at bringing this community together to enable shared learning. A special thanks to our panelists Akshay Aedula, Kannan Murali, Khilan Haria, Nitin Pulyani, Omkar Shirhatti, Vikas Bansal and Sripad Panyam for the thought-provoking discussions and our moderators Shashank Mehta and Movin Jain for guiding them. The first panel, ‘Go Deep To Go Broad’, explored the intricacies of balancing core product offerings with expansion and cross-selling. The panelists discussed strategies for adapting to serve new markets and demographics, emphasizing the importance of aligning product launches with the company's vision and market potential. A key takeaway was the delicate balance required between meeting the needs of existing users and attracting new customers. The second panel, ‘Go Slow To Go Fast’, tackled the challenging intersection of innovation and compliance in fintech. They shared their learnings on preparing for potential regulatory changes, stressing the importance of proactive engagement with regulators. The discussion provided a nuanced view of how fintech companies can innovate responsibly within regulatory frameworks. Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing key takeaways and videos of the conversations soon! Mukul Arora Mridul Arora Vaas Bhaskar Kshitij Jayakrishnan Rahul Humayun Raghav Gupta Ashray Iyengar Ishwar Prasad Karan Agarwal Pulkit Deshmukh Sai Akshaya Siddhant Agarwal Ishan Das Keshav Gupta

We are excited to collaborate with HDFC Tech Innovators Challenge 2024 as a Venture Partner! Jointly created by HDFC Bank and HDFC Capital Advisors Limited, the challenge focuses on identifying innovations and groundbreaking ideas set to inspire a new wave of change. If your startup has a disruptive product or solution, seize this opportunity to be recognized by experts, get unparalleled access to investors and industry leaders and network with senior leadership of the HDFC Group and the Elevation team. Apply today at: https://lnkd.in/gJChntHS Mukul Arora Mridul Arora Vaas Bhaskar Kshitij Jayakrishnan Rahul Humayun Raghav Gupta Ashray Iyengar Ishwar Prasad Karan Agarwal Pulkit Deshmukh Sai Akshaya Siddhant Agarwal Ishan Das Keshav Gupta

I'm thrilled to share a special episode of the Create Wealth podcast, wherein I talk with four investors who have been instrumental in Dezerv's journey: 1️⃣ Mridul Arora - Partner at Elevation Capital, whose insights have been guiding us since our seed round 2️⃣ Vikram Vaidyanathan - Managing Director of Z47 (fka Matrix Partners India), a long-time mentor and supporter 3️⃣ Abhinav Chaturvedi - Partner at Accel who saw potential in Dezerv early on 4️⃣ Saravanan Nattanmai - Partner at Premji Invest, a keen supporter, who has joined our cap table in the latest fundraise They aren't just investors; they're our partners, mentors, and board members who have been integral in shaping Dezerv's vision and growth. In this no-holds-barred discussion, we delved into the intricacies of wealth management and venture capital, wherein we talk about  - ➡️ How VCs assess founders and companies at various stages of growth ➡️ The evolution of valuation metrics as startups evolve ➡️ Why wealth management is a long-term game and how it differs from transactional platforms ➡️ The projection of India's wealth market, with an estimated 1 crore crorepatis in the next 4-5 years ➡️ The critical importance of regulatory compliance and transparency in building sustainable businesses ➡️ Personal investment strategies of these successful VCs (their approaches might surprise you!) This conversation offers a rare glimpse into the minds of those shaping the future of wealth management and fintech in India. Whether you're an entrepreneur, an investor, or someone keen on understanding the dynamics of wealth creation, there's something here for everyone. I'm deeply grateful to Mridul, Vikram, Abhinav, and Saravanan for their continued support in our journey. Their insights have been crucial in our mission to democratise wealth management for India's growing affluent investors. I'm excited to share this special episode with you all. Watch the entire conversation here - https://lnkd.in/d4dKpqaD #WealthManagement #VentureCapital #Fintech #Investing #CreateWealth #Dezerv

Mukul Arora (Co-Managing Partner, Elevation Capital Capital), shared candid insights and personal anecdotes in a wide-ranging fireside chat with Varun Limaye (Co-Founder, Mesa School of Business) during the orientation of Mesa School’s 2025 Cohort recently. The conversation covered a variety of topics — from Mukul’s career journey, investment philosophy and decision making process to customer obsession, lessons from past investments and advice for aspiring founders. Watch the complete discussion here: https://lnkd.in/gxJetv-T

Meet the judges for the Elevation AI Frontiers Ideathon! They bring diverse perspectives on consumer tech, AI, and product development from the worlds of social media, entertainment, content, education, e-commerce and travel, among others. ➤ Abhishek Surana (CPTO, SonyLIV) ➤ Amit Z (CPO, Sharechat) ➤ Goodies Narayanan (VP, International Growth, Coursera) ➤ Amit Aggarwal (Principal, Elevation Capital) They're eager to see how you'll create innovative and disruptive user experiences with AI. The winning teams will have the opportunity to be mentored by these experts to turn their ideas into reality. Register at this link to participate: https://lnkd.in/gFXUVAyp Mukul Arora Mayank Khanduja Manish Advani Harshit Jain Anoushka Arya

The SEO playbook is being rewritten and founders are facing a new reality: traditional SEO tactics are no longer enough. Three months after launching AI Overviews in the US, Google this week expanded its AI-powered search summaries to six more countries including India. Companies are increasingly seeing a dip in their search traffic and CTRs as they grapple with the uncertainty of adapting to these new shifts, requiring immediate attention and strategy overhaul. As AI reshapes search in real-time, there is no better time than now to discuss how founders can address these new challenges. In a recent conversation with Poorvi Vijay (Vice President, Elevation Capital), Madhukar Kumar, CMO at SingleStore and a seasoned marketing leader, uncovered practical strategies for thriving in this new landscape: ➤ Why "human-generated content" is more crucial than ever ➤ How to shift from SEO to KEO (Knowledge Engine Optimization) ➤ The 'Growth Cylinder' approach ➤ Tactics for optimizing content in an AI-first world ➤ The importance of channel diversification beyond Google Head to this article for a deep dive: https://lnkd.in/gu5z5Cad Mukul Arora Akarsh Shrivastava Poorvi Vijay Aadith Ramesh Satya Bharadwaja Shambhav Tewari Astha Jakher

Here’s the latest edition of our monthly newsletter, Summit Review. In the past month, we celebrated the stock market debut of FirstCry, hosted a gaming hackathon, published our thesis for GenAI in consumer applications and released a new Day One podcast episode. We had the opportunity to interact with incredible founders through events from our SaaS, Consumer, Fintech & Gaming practices, and our Portfolio Services team. Discover more insights and updates in the newsletter below, and subscribe to receive future editions 👇