Small town startup has global ambitions

“We want to be the software version of Nvidia for quantum computing. Our goal is to provide products to enterprises looking to harness quantum computing power, just as Nvidia chips have for generative AI.”

This bold statement from Sreekuttan LS, a native of Kottarakara in Kerala, might seem like a tall order for a startup. But it reflects the rise of entrepreneurs from regions far from India's traditional tech hubs, who now dream of creating products with global impact.

To some, Sreekuttan’s vision may sound like the dreamy ambition of a nerdy student sitting in a college canteen. But Gurgaon-based Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) and their incubation centre, Idea School, were convinced by his pitch. This well-known group of investors has backed his startup, Bloq Quantum, with 1.3 crore rupees after a vetting process that lasted almost a month.

The Bloq co-founder says they have identified 400 major companies with an active interest in quantum computing and are looking to use this particular technology to gain a business advantage. Universities and research institutes are also among their targets. The market they eye is mostly in the US and Europe as there is limited demand in India right now.

“What we have is a low-code platform that helps them build quantum computing codes for their specific use cases. Our product is designed for enterprises, not individual users.”

Despite this impressive start, Sreekuttan, who hails from a middle-class family and completed his schooling at Sree Gurudeva Central School in Kollam, admits that quantum computing is still a nascent field, with large-scale adoption likely years away.

“Look at neural networks. Just a couple of decades ago, that sector was the butt of many jokes. But that has completely changed now. So, changes can happen quickly. It could take ten years, or it could happen in two. But I am sure it will happen, and we are getting ready for that.”

Computing is just one facet of a broader quantum revolution. Other areas, such as quantum sensing, quantum security, and quantum metrology, have matured and are ready for wider use.

This is why the Indian government launched the National Quantum Mission, allocating 6,000 crore rupees with the aim of developing intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50-1000 physical qubits over the next eight years.

Tough start

In spite of his work, which included stints at prestigious institutions like the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore and IIT Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Sreekuttan remains convinced that research wasn't his calling. “I realised that even during my undergraduate days at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune. My core interest was entrepreneurship.”

This self-awareness led him to study marketing and other allied fields needed for a startup from his student days onward, gradually acquiring the skills necessary to launch a business with global ambitions.

His journey was far from smooth, and he candidly shares the setbacks he faced, including a failed attempt to establish an online coaching centre during the Covid-19 pandemic. The venture, Boson Academy, aimed to prepare students for entrance exams to prestigious institutions like the IITs.

“It was a disaster, as no one would respond to the calls I made to different schools and colleges,” he recalls. “I was so shattered that even the sight of the telephone would depress me.”

Lessons Learned

This experience, though disheartening, taught Sreekuttan a valuable lesson. “It made me aware of what not to do.”

In 2021, Sreekuttan joined Wadhwani Foundation's National Entrepreneurship Network programme, which helps young business founders hone their skills.

He and his team created a practice venture named Vikalp in the mental healthcare industry, a model that received validation from an international jury as a viable business.

“What I realised was that you don’t need to burn a lot of money to start a venture. It aligned well with my stingy Malayalee mindset,” he says with a laugh.

While exploring different sectors for a viable business plan, in 2022 Sreekuttan joined Qkrishi, a Bangalore-based quantum computing startup focused on the finance industry. This experience exposed him to the challenges of the nascent quantum computing ecosystem, including end-user difficulties, hardware and software limitations, and marketing hurdles.

His interactions with clients like PepsiCo, Harmaan, and Axis Bank provided him with valuable insights into the requirements of clients looking to explore quantum computing.

The Birth of Bloq

The feedback from clients and his growing knowledge of the ecosystem shaped the idea of Bloq, the startup Sreekuttan co-founded with Jay Patel, a former intern at Qkrishi.

Patel, who completed his computer science degree this year, is now pursuing his master’s in quantum computing at the University of Toronto in Canada.

At Qkrishi, Patel impressed Sreekuttan with his quick learning and in-depth understanding of coding. “He is a real genius when it comes to coding. When he was a second-year student at Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gujarat, he was selected for a two-month internship at CERN in Switzerland after winning a hackathon.”

“When I started sounding out my business ideas, we were quick to gel,” Sreekuttan says.

Patel's presence in Toronto is now vital, as Bloq targets markets in the US, Canada, and Europe. While the company’s backend work can be done in India, having a physical presence in these markets is crucial.

Market Insights

As their venture plan proceeded and Patel started working on product development, Sreekuttan took on the role of product manager with the Canada-based Quantum Insider, which was creating a database solely for quantum computing. This provided him with valuable insights into the global quantum computing market and the needs of companies already exploring the sector.

“It gave me insights about what kind of companies are already exploring quantum computing, the startups in the field, and their areas of work. That was invaluable,” says Sreekuttan.

All this preparation helped when Bloq founders were invited to pitch their startup by IPV after they filed an application to the Idea School. There were 1,000 applicants but Bloq cleared all the hurdles and became one of the three that were selected for funding.

IPV has thousands of angel investors, and due diligence is conducted by members among them. Among them were experts in software development with knowledge of quantum computing. “We took about two dozen calls from them.”

“It was our frugality that impressed them, as our total expenses up to that point were around 700 rupees, which we spent to register our domain name. The team was not drawing salaries, and we had not pursued establishment expenses but had focused on product development. We used the free cloud facilities offered by Microsoft and free sites to create the company logo.”

He says IPV was a great platform as it guided us through several processes, such as company registration, drawing up revenue projections, and finding the required professionals. “We received the funding before everything was finalised, and they helped us to register as a startup in a couple of days.”

That itself was an eye-opener for the startup founders, as government entities have many formalities and are often slow-moving. Bloq didn’t receive a quick response even after informing the authorities about the IPV funding.

But with all these matters done and dusted, the Bloq founders are now preparing to focus on their work.

Growing Network

Sreekuttan says Bloq has already developed a network of business advisers who have worked with global analytical firms like KPMG and are familiar with multinationals that have active quantum computing departments. US-based Shan Latheef, a former Chief Innovation Officer at Infosys, is among them.

Sreekuttan is confident about Bloq's future and the daunting challenges ahead do not bother him. With Bloq, this startup founder is not just chasing a dream; he is laying the foundation for a future where ideas from outside traditional IT hubs could lead to global enterprises.

He need not have to look farfor inspiration, as his hometown, Kottarakara, is now the seat of a Zoho venture aimed at training local talent to compete globally.

Zoho founder Vembu Sridhar has set an example by developing a multi-million dollar global enterprise which is based in the rural Theni area of Tamil Nadu.

Sreekuttan’s thinking is similar. “I feel Kottarakkara is the best place for me to run this as my expenses would be near zero compared to setting it up elsewhere. And it offers me a quality of life that is difficult for a startup founder to achieve in a metro city like Bangalore,” says the self-confessed frugal Malayalee.

When the dotcom boom was happening in Silicon Valley, garages were the places where young minds moulded ideas that went on to fuel the internet revolution.

If Sreekuttan’s dreams are realised, it could signal that Indian villages might become the equivalents of those Californian garages from a bygone era.

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