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India’s Neysa bags $30M to compete with global AI hyperscalers

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India's Neysa bags $30M to compete with global AI hyperscalers

Even though India isn’t at the forefront of the global AI innovation battle, demand for AI in the country is growing as businesses seek efficiencies and tech companies promote AI developments as a cure-all. The South Asian nation is projected to have an AI market touching $17 billion by 2027, according to a joint report by the IT industry body Nasscom and consulting firm BCG.

Neysa, an Indian startup led by seasoned tech entrepreneur Sharad Sanghi, aims to leverage this growth opportunity by offering its AI solutions to local and multinational businesses in the country.

The Mumbai-based startup provides AI and machine learning infrastructure and platform as a service to enterprise customers based on their requirements. It also includes dedicated machine learning operations and infrastructure consulting teams to help customers find the relevant size for their infrastructure, and to fine-tune or customize the models they choose.

Before founding Neysa with his former colleague Anindya Das in 2023, Sanghi spent over 27 years at his previous venture and data center provider, Netmagic, which Japan’s NTT Data acquired in 2016. He told TechCrunch that he intended to focus on cloud infrastructure and AI in 2022 but was unable to do so. He resigned as the managing director and CEO of Netmagic in June 2023 to start fresh with Neysa.

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“I started at Neysa with a view of providing infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, inference as a service, the services layer around ML, as well as the platforms that we need for developers,” he said in an interview.

Neysa co-founder and CEO Sharad Sanghi

Neysa initially started as an infrastructure service provider and launched its flagship platform, Velocis, in July to provide on-demand access to computing infrastructure. However, it plans to expand the product lineup by launching its developer platform and inference-as-a-service before the year-end. The startup is also working on developing an “observability for better management” of its infrastructure and securing AI workloads, Sanghi said.

With its entire suite of offerings getting ready, Neysa is looking to compete with global hyperscalers, including the typical cloud service providers such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure, as well as the new-age contenders like CoreWeave and Lambda Labs. Sanghi asserted that the startup differentiates from the existing players by offering “flexibility” in its models.

“We can offer both public cloud and private clusters. It’s also the open-source nature of our offering. All our platforms are built on open-source platforms… so there’s no lock-in for clients,” he stated.

The startup’s consultation service also aims to attract local businesses, which often find it challenging to get the appropriate infrastructure without spending thousands of dollars.

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“Very often, clients come to us and say that they want so many GPUs… and when we really look at the requirement, they don’t need half the amount they had asked,” Sanghi said.

Neysa has raised $30 million in an all-equity Series A round co-led by its existing investors NTTVC, Z47 (formerly called Matrix Partners India), and Nexus Venture Partners. This follows up the startup’s $20 million seed round earlier this year.

The fresh funding, Sanghi said, will augment Neysa’s infrastructure, enhance its R&D, and broaden go-to-market. The funds will also set the base for the startup to launch its integrated Gen AI acceleration cloud service.

The startup currently has a headcount of 55 people, which it will grow by adding more engineers and staff to expand direct and indirect sales.

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Neysa currently has around 12 paying customers and runs about six large proof-of-concepts. As much as 70 percent of its entire customer base has opted for the private cluster, while the remaining 30 percent is on a public cloud, Sanghi said.

While Sanghi didn’t disclose the names of Neysa’s customers, he said the startup caters to broadly three categories: research institutes, AI-native startups, and enterprise customers, initially in the banking, manufacturing, and media sectors.

Neysa’s current customer base is in India, though Sanghi said the startup does plan to enter global markets with its next round of funding — talks for which have already started, and it is expected to close in the next six to nine months.

He did not reveal the exact amount Neysa seeks to raise in its next round, though he stated that it would be “in an order of magnitude more than what we’ve currently raised.” The startup also plans to raise debt to fulfil the growing GPU and other infrastructure requirements.

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NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Tuesday, October 22 (game #233)

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13 mins ago

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October 22, 2024

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NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background

Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

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Blade Runner 2049 producers sue Elon Musk over cybercab images

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34 mins ago

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October 22, 2024

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Blade Runner 2049 producers sue Elon Musk over cybercab images
Tesla / YouTube Screen grab from Tesla robotaxi launch event, which shows a figure on the right of the image looking over an orange-hued dystopian-looking city skyline.Tesla / YouTube

An image shown during Tesla’s We, Robot event

The maker of the film Blade Runner 2049 has sued Tesla, Elon Musk and Warner Bros Discovery, alleging they used imagery from the movie without permission.

Production firm Alcon Entertainment claims it had specifically denied a request from Warner Bros to use material from the film at the launch event for Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxi.

Alcon alleges that despite its refusal Tesla and the other organisers of the event on 10 October used artificial intelligence (AI) to create promotional imagery based on the film.

Tesla and Warner Bros did not immediately reply to requests for comment from BBC News.

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The “financial magnitude of the misappropriation here was substantial,” the lawsuit said.

“Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicised, capricious and arbitrary behaviour, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account,” it added.

Alcon also accused the event organisers of “false endorsement” by suggesting a connection between the production company and Tesla.

Warner Bros, which hosted the robotaxi launch event at one of its movie studios, was also the distributor of Blade Runner 2049 when it was released in 2017.

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The highly-anticipated sequel to the 1982 cyberpunk classic Blade Runner, starred Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas and Jared Leto, and won two Academy Awards.

Warner Bros A still image from the film Blade Runner 2049, which shows a vehicle on the right of the image and a person walking towards an orange-hued dystopian-looking city.Warner Bros

A scene from the film Blade Runner 2049

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NYT Crossword: answers for Monday, October 21

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55 mins ago

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October 22, 2024

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NYT Crossword: answers for Monday, September 23


The New York Times crossword puzzle can be tough! If you’re stuck, we’re here to help with a list of today’s clues and answers.

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HMD’s new Fusion phone becomes one with Venom

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1 hour ago

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October 22, 2024

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HMD's new Fusion phone becomes one with Venom

HMD launched its Fusion phone back in September sans modular attachments that it calls “Smart Outfits”, but now the company is giving consumers a look at what you can do with these accessories through this incredibly unique Venom version of the phone.

HMD partnered with Sony Pictures to celebrate the upcoming release of Venom: The Last Dance and created a unique Smart Outfit that embodies the symbiotic relationship between Venom and Eddie Brock. Much like Venom changes the outer appearance of Brock, the Venom smart outfits change the outer appearance of the HMD Fusion with Venom-like qualities.

This is visibly represented by a special glass chamber that snaps onto the back of the device, connected by the Fusion’s six smart pins. Inside the smart outfit, there are 160 electromagnetic arrays that “control” some ferrofluid on the inside of the glass chamber. Causing the ferrofluid to shift around, twist, and contort itself into different shapes much like Venom might do.

It’s an interesting concept for a modular smartphone accessory. One that might just excite Venom fans and convince them to consider this device. However, it’s important to note that you can’t actually buy this smart outfit for yourself.

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The HMD Fusion Venom phone is not available for sale

While you can pre-order the HMD Fusion right now for $299.99, you can’t actually buy this Venom smart outfit. It was created specifically for the promotion of the new film. And there are only three of these in the world.

HMD says the Venom phone made an appearance at a special Venom pop-up event on October 20, and then once more at the premiere for the film that happened on October 21. So, unfortunately, there’s no way to even see these special smart outfits in person at this point. Luckily, HMD has shared quite a few images of the device. There’s also a trailer that displays the ferrofluid in motion. This should give you a better idea of how the smart outfit reacts.

The phone also came with unique Venom-themed movie easter eggs

In addition to the special physical appearance, HMD also loaded up this three-of-a-kind device with some special movie easter eggs. There’s an alarm tone that says, “Eddie, the time has come” and a notification alert that says “Who sent that thing?” in Venom’s voice.

Additionally, there’s a voicemail that comes up from Venom when the phone is loaded up. As well as a ringtone that plays for incoming calls. While HMD isn’t making it possible to own this smart outfit, it’s not leaving fans empty-handed. It has several Venom: The Last Dance wallpapers that can be downloaded.

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Foursquare is killing its city guide app to focus on the check-in app Swarm

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2 hours ago

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October 22, 2024

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Foursquare is killing its city guide app to focus on the check-in app Swarm

It’s the end of an era for one of the App Store’s earliest success stories. Foursquare is shutting down its signature city guide app in order to “focus our efforts on building an even better experience in Swarm,” the company said in . The app will shut down December 15, while the web version will stay online until “early 2025.”

The shutdown is a notable reversal of a strategy the company announced a decade ago when it, controversially, opted its famed “check-in” service into a separate app. That app became known as Swarm while the Foursquare-branded app became a “” full of user-generated reviews and local recommendations.

Now, Foursquare says its future is, once again, the check-in. “We’re also introducing exciting new features and capabilities into Swarm throughout the year (👀 some of which may look familiar to you) in order to unlock new use cases that may better support your needs,” the company said, adding that additional updates are expected “early next year.”

It’s not clear why the company is changing its strategy to elevate Swarm over its namesake app. The company more than 100 employees earlier this year in an effort to “streamline” operations. Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, who is currently co-chair of the company’s board of directors, said in a post that the company is “doing fine,” though he expressed disappointment with the news. “I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I have been in a real funk these last few days over this news,” he wrote.

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Final Countdown: 7 days until Disrupt 2024 kicks off

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2 hours ago

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October 22, 2024

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TechCrunch Disrupt

T-minus 7 days until TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 officially kicks off! One of the year’s biggest tech events is ready to dominate the Bay Area’s thriving tech landscape for almost the entire week.

Get ready for one of the biggest tech gatherings, taking place October 28-30 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Tech experts from every corner of the globe will come together to engage with the latest innovations, learn trends, and connect through unparalleled networking.

Why you can’t miss Disrupt 2024

10,000+ startup and VC leaders

Forge powerful connections with the 10,000 tech, startup, and VC leaders who gather at Disrupt 2024. 

350+ innovations

Discover groundbreaking innovations from the 350+ startups from all over the world that will be showcased in the Expo Hall.

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250+ industry experts

Gain invaluable insights from some of the top industry heavyweights across six of the industry stages and sessions.

200+ hands-on sessions 

Engage in Q&A Breakouts and Roundtable Sessions with industry experts, focused on solving today’s key challenges.

Startup Battlefield 200

Witness the high-stakes startup showdown that is a highlight of Disrupt. Twenty handpicked startups, chosen from thousands, will pitch to a panel of leading VC judges, competing for a $100,000 equity-free prize and the iconic Disrupt Cup.

Unmatched networking

In addition to networking with fellow Disrupt attendees across the venue, you can visit our Networking Lounge powered by Braindate. It’s designed for those who’ve created or joined discussions through the Braindate app.

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60+ Side Events

Extend the excitement of Disrupt 2024 beyond the main event by joining company-hosted Side Events across San Francisco. Immerse yourself in the vibrant tech community in a relaxed setting, with options ranging from workshops and happy hours to cocktail parties, morning runs, and comedy nights — there’s something for everyone!

Don’t miss Disrupt 2024

There are endless reasons to join this epic tech conference, but the best way to understand its value is to experience it yourself. Take advantage of our 2-for-1 offer and bring a plus-one for just half the cost of one Expo+ Pass until October 27. Prices for all tickets will increase when the doors open at Disrupt on October 28.

Secure your Disrupt 2024 ticket here before rates increase.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024

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