Time has come for businesses to capitalise on technology

Sanchiconnect aspires to be a ‘founder-first’ platform. Its mission is to make the lives of deep-tech founders easier on all fronts, including fundraising, customer access, hiring, tools to amplify their GTM, etc. Sunil Shekhawat, CEO, Sanchiconnect, in an interview with Bizz Buzz, says, “Today, technologies such as AI-ML are an integral part of our lives, whether we realise it or not, and this penetration will increase with each passing day. We have reached a point where a street vendor, if so inclined, can optimise his business using freely available apps, but can also choose to lose productivity by neglecting them”

What is Sanchiconnect doing in the deep-tech space? What motivated you to start Sanchiconnect?

In the past decade of my involvement in the startup space as a founder, enabler, and investor, one thing that has not changed is the way a founder begins their fund-raising voyage by sending cold emails or seeking a soft introduction through a connection. On the other hand, the volume of potential transaction flow has increased dramatically from less than 10,000 in 2013 to close to 100,000 in 2023, making it impossible for investors to evaluate all startup applicants.

As a result, we decided to establish a deep-tech - only platform that enables startup-investor and startup-corporate interactions that have been pre-curated. With close to 800 users from the worlds of investors, corporations, and startups, we have had greater success executing a successful beta for ourselves.

In your opinion what is the future of deep-tech startups in India? While keeping in mind India's growing number of startups?

In the past decade, non-tech businesses have been converted into tech-enabled businesses, and tech firms have attempted to capitalise on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, internet of things (IoT), etc for greater efficiency and return on investment (ROI). This is providing a tremendous boost to the overall emergence of the deep-tech ecosystem. Today, tech firms in India are expanding at a rate of close to 30 per cent CAGR, while the deep-tech ecosystem is expanding at a rate of slightly more than 50 per cent CAGR, demonstrating where our collective future lies.

What is the USP of Sanchiconnect and what makes it unique?

Sanchiconnect aspires to be a ‘founder-first’ platform. Our mission is to make the lives of deep-tech founders easier on all fronts, including fundraising, customer access, hiring, tools to amplify their GTM, etc. We have eliminated friction on every possible front. I personally see no reason for a founder of a deep-tech venture not to be on sanchiconnect and establish meaningful connections.

How do you see the recent advancements in the space of AI, drone technology, and machine learning?

Today, technologies such as AI-ML are an integral part of our lives, whether we realise it or not, and this penetration will increase with each passing day. We have reached a point where a street vendor, if so inclined, can optimise his business using freely available apps, but can also choose to lose productivity by neglecting them. Our decision is free.

Similarly, drones are ubiquitous today, from delivery to surveying. There are numerous use cases, and fortunately, affordability and availability are already addressed. The time has come for lesser businesses to capitalise on the expanding drone bases and improve their business matrices.

How do you view the argument of AI reducing the number of jobs in the future? Will the effect be soon or later?

I will rephrase the statement ‘AI is reducing inefficiencies in existing businesses and enabling them to make better use of their workforce’. This may necessitate a degree of retraining, which is a current necessity and has been the case since the beginning of time.