Startup aims to be vanguard of Indian supply chain

India’s push to expand its manufacturing base, along with the global shift towards the ‘China + 1 policy,’ is laying a solid foundation for the growth of the local hardware sector. While becoming an alternative world factory to China will be a time-consuming journey, some enterprising minds have quickly moved to capitalise on the winds of change.

One such startup is Venttup Ventures, which aims to be a critical enabler of India’s manufacturing transformation. Founded in December 2021 by Sandeep Nair, Joseph Panakkal, and Wasim Ankli, the Chennai-based company seeks to provide a platform that helps multinationals and domestic companies meet their need for world-class components and machinery.

“I would say India is where China was 15-20 years ago,” says Sandeep, the company's CEO, with a blend of realism and optimism. “It is a slow process, but we are definitely making gains.”

Sandeep should know, having spent decades with industry giants like Hitachi, Siemens, and L&T, predominantly working on extra-high-voltage projects. He was involved in every stage, from distribution and transmission to the setup of substations.

Such big ticket projects typically occur once every three of four years, with budgets tags worth thousands of crore rupees. In such ventures, material costs account for over 70 percent of the total value, yet 60 percent of the components are still sourced from abroad, especially Europe.

Going Local

“My last project with Hitachi was setting up the factory in Chennai,” Sandeep explains. “The parent factory was in Sweden, where they manufactured components to convert high-voltage AC to DC. I was involved in every phase, from land finalisation to factory commissioning.”

Hitachi had also assigned Sandeep another critical task: to source components locally wherever possible.

“I started identifying suppliers for semi-critical parts, but it was a very challenging process,” he recalls. “This isn’t like routine procurement, as it involves engineering designs, project-specific customisation, and rigorous testing.”

“With the Covid-19 lockdowns restricting travel, I had to take on most of the work myself. I developed the supply chain and personally oversaw quality checks in the laboratories.”

Sandeep’s experiences during his industry career sparked the idea for a business enterprise, and he soon brought in co-founders to turn it into reality.

“Joseph and I studied together in Chennai, although his focus was on business consulting and market research. What we needed next was someone skilled in executing projects. For that, I was able to persuade my former L&T colleague, Wasim Ankli, to join our endeavour as a co-founder.”

Venttup describes its business model as “Manufacturing as a Service” (MaaS). The startup doesn’t just connect manufacturers; it provides end-to-end support. From design evaluation and engineering quality checks to prototype testing and certification, Venttup transforms local manufacturers from isolated producers into potential global suppliers.

“We are not a middleman,” Sandeep explains. “Venttup takes the order and executes it, assuming full responsibility for design, quality checks, and supply chain management.” The startup serves as a one-stop platform for procuring quality components.

Huddle Boost

From August 2023 to March of this year, Venttup focused on team building but still managed to generate a revenue of around 57 lakhs (5.7 million) rupees.

During that period, the startup also participated in the Global Huddle 2023, where it spoke to several investors, including Unicorn Ventures. However, at that time, the manufacturing sector was not a primary focus for fund managers.

“During the Startup Mahakumbh held in New Delhi earlier this year, we ran into Unicorn Ventures Managing Partner Anil Joshi again, and he started taking a closer look at our firm. In September, they invested in our company.”

“From March to this November, our revenue has now increased, and we are about to hit the 2 crore rupees now. Our goal is to reach the 5 crore rupees mark this financial year, which will be ten times what we achieved during our bootstrapped period.”

Venttup aims to keep its focus on sectors like energy, EV, defence, and aerospace. However, the founders say that if any manufacturer faces challenges regarding components, they are open to addressing them. “We have already embarked on projects such as reverse-engineering products now imported from countries like Germany for clients in different sectors,” says Sandeep.

India’s Potential

The startup founder is confident that Indian manufacturers can compete globally. When it comes to customised products, Chinese firms have very high margins, and Indian manufacturers can easily compete, he says. This confidence led him to quit his job with Hitachi and embark on this new journey.

“The Japanese company had actually planned to assign me a Sweden-based global role to develop a localised supply chain. But I quit the day we completed the Chennai project to pursue this startup, as I realised many companies want to develop local supply chains in the countries they operate.”

This, coupled with the geopolitical changes and encouragement for the domestic sector, provided the startup founders with the perfect conditions to launch their enterprise. They are confident that the winds of change will propel their enterprise to new heights.

Fireworks light up AI horizon

The stream of AI products unveiled in recent days has been as spectacular as the Geminids meteor shower that astronomy enthusiasts rave about. OpenAI kicked off the excitement with its Shipmas campaign, featuring real-time video capabilities as its latest highlight. Then, Google stole the spotlight with a series of new additions, including Gemini 2.0, Project Astro, and audio overviews for NotebookLM. Microsoft followed suit with Phi-4, an advancement in math-related reasoning. Time will tell which of these innovations turn out to be shooting stars and which will continue to shine brightly.

While AI race continues, debates rage on among experts, polarised between claims that “AI is fake and sucks” and fears that “AI is real and dangerous.” But one predictable outcome has emerged. A group of researchers analysed a million ChatGPT interaction logs and found that the second most popular use case was sexual role-playing. According to MIT Technology Review, people also frequently used it for brainstorming, planning, seeking explanations, and obtaining general information.

Netrasemi continues to soar

Trivandrum-based semiconductor startup Netrasemi is going from strength to strength, having raised 10 crore rupees from Unicorn India Ventures to develop edge AI for Internet of Things products. The company plans to use this war chest to fabricate the Netra A2000 and Netra R1000, designed for applications in sectors like surveillance and robotics. Co-founded by Jyothis, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha, the startup is poised to become the first Indian firm to enter the global market for AI chips. “The Netrasemi family of chips will be the first AI/ML SoCs from India for intelligent edge devices, with a full array of in-house developed digital IPs,” says Jyothis.

All social and no media app

With social media apps increasingly becoming platforms for trolling, campaigns, forwards, and good morning messages, it’s no surprise that Twitter cofounder Evan Williams decided to create a new way to connect with friends. Enter Mozi, a new app he describes as “more social and less media.” Williams, who also cofounded Medium, says his demanding professional life left him little time to keep track of where his friends are. This inspired him to build an app free from the usual trappings of algorithm-driven models. According to The New York Times, Mozi allows users to maintain a private friend list and receive notifications if a contact plans to visit their city or attend the same event.

A direct line to Santa

As the Christmas holidays approach, don’t forget to share your wishlist with Santa! OpenAI has brought Santa online, and all you need to do is click on the snowflake icon in ChatGPT, located to the right of the prompt bar and you can talk directly to him. We had a blast as his booming, cheerful voice came through during our chat. Santa patiently listened to our wishes and gave fairly satisfactory answers to all our questions. He also revealed that he’s not planning to switch to EVs anytime soon because his sled is powered by Christmas magic, leaving no carbon footprint. Not bad for someone who uses chimneys to make his grand entrance, eh?