I'm Varun, and this is a show where we get really deep about the future of tech, entertainment and business. While other podcasts scratch the surface, I think it is important to meet the best people in their fields and go much deeper. Today, we have a really special guest from the Indian genAI space, Aakrit Vaish. He's the Co-Founder & CEO of Jio Haptik, one of India's largest AI companies. He started the company back in 2013, and in 2019, Reliance Jio acquired it in a staggering $100 million deal.

Aakrit Vaish's story is more than just inspiring. Imagine being in a 9-5 job, wanting something more fulfilling and challenging. That's exactly where Aakrit was, like everyone working at a corporate company. But driven by his curiosity and desire for something greater, he left his job, moved to Silicon Valley, and successfully launched multiple startups. His significant moment came in 2010 during a visit to India, where he met with a lot of internet entrepreneurs and realized the untapped potential in messaging apps like WhatsApp, which were seeing incredibly high user engagement. So, he decided to innovate in this space. Fast forward to today, Haptik is revolutionizing customer support through their AI systems, managing over 1 billion monthly conversations.

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00:00 - Introduction
02:22 - Early career and Founding Haptic AI
11:23 - Pivoting from Consumer Product to B2B business
14:18 - The process of selling a company for $100 million
22:42 - The future of AI and its applications
27:10 - Impacts of Generative AI on Jobs and Education
31:18 - Software Business Models in the Age of AI
35:31 - Observations from being both a Founder and Investor
37:24 - What happens to Software Engineering in next 10 years
39:31 - Aakrit’s experience being Investor and what the future of venture capital in India
47:11 - Cultural differences between Indian and Silicon Valley startups
56:08 - Aakrit’s insight as a Founder after being a VC
57:32 - Hot Take - Secret to Health Transformation
57:58 - Hot Take - Can OS be a Chat Assistant?
59:22 - Hot Take - Go to AI Tools
01:00:54 - AI today, Opportunities in Future, and AI in Education
01:03:38 - Parting thoughts