EPISODE · Jan 12, 2026 · 1H 9M
Anmol Maini (Untitled Ventures) | Shreepoorna Rao (Arctus) | KK (Mela Ventures) | Episode 45
from The Offline Network · host The Offline Network
Today’s episode moves between venture capital concentration, next-gen aerospace, and building enduring Indian companies — against a fast-shifting AI and startup backdrop.🗞️ Things We Saw on the InternetUpGrad–Unacademy deal called off — all-stock talks valuing Unacademy at ~$300M (~90% below 2021 peak) fell apart; ESOP rollback reversed after employee pushback.India becomes the cheapest place to train AI models — 50k+ H100s live, government-backed distributed compute, ~65% lower cost than AWS/Azure, inference moving into railways, hospitals, and ports.CES 2026 launches — early signals of where consumer and industrial tech is heading next.Universal Commerce Protocol — Google partners with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, Walmart; Stripe launches ACP with OpenAI. Agents discover, buy, and pay autonomously. Who wins?TikTok × FIFA 2026 World Cup — livestreams, ads, creators, and global distribution under one platform.🎙️ Guest Segments1/ Anmol Maini — General Partner, Untitled VenturesOn venture capital concentration in India, consensus vs contrarian capital, why a small group of firms fund most unicorns, and what Untitled Ventures is building and backing outside the herd.2/ Shreepoorna Rao — Founder & CEO, Arctus AerospaceFresh off a $2.6M pre-seed, Shreepoorna breaks down high-altitude autonomous drones, centimetre-level imagery at satellite-beating costs, real-time aerial data, and what flying at 45,000 ft unlocks for defence, infra, and climate use cases.3/ Krishnakumar Natarajan — Managing Partner, Mela Ventures; Ex-Co-founder, MindtreeLessons from building Mindtree into a $2.5B global firm, how founder evaluation changes with scale, equity vs patient capital like the ₹1 lakh crore RDI fund, and what kinds of Indian companies give him the most hope in an AI-first world.🎧 Watch, subscribe, and join our WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BK69EsNWP8BJIaoy3k7EfX?mode=ac_tFollow us:X → https://x.com/OfflineOnAirInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/theofflinenetworkLinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/offlineonairWebsite → https://www.theoffline.network#TheOfflineNetwork #IndiaTech #Startups #VentureCapital #AI #Drones #Aerospace #Arctus #UntitledVentures #MelaVentures #Mindtree #Compute #AgenticAI #Commerce #FIFA2026
What this episode covers
Today’s episode moves between venture capital concentration, next-gen aerospace, and building enduring Indian companies — against a fast-shifting AI and startup backdrop.🗞️ Things We Saw on the InternetUpGrad–Unacademy deal called off — all-stock talks valuing Unacademy at ~$300M (~90% below 2021 peak) fell apart; ESOP rollback reversed after employee pushback.India becomes the cheapest place to train AI models — 50k+ H100s live, government-backed distributed compute, ~65% lower cost than AWS/Azure, inference moving into railways, hospitals, and ports.CES 2026 launches — early signals of where consumer and industrial tech is heading next.Universal Commerce Protocol — Google partners with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, Walmart; Stripe launches ACP with OpenAI. Agents discover, buy, and pay autonomously. Who wins?TikTok × FIFA 2026 World Cup — livestreams, ads, creators, and global distribution under one platform.🎙️ Guest Segments1/ Anmol Maini — General Partner, Untitled VenturesOn venture capital concentration in India, consensus vs contrarian capital, why a small group of firms fund most unicorns, and what Untitled Ventures is building and backing outside the herd.2/ Shreepoorna Rao — Founder & CEO, Arctus AerospaceFresh off a $2.6M pre-seed, Shreepoorna breaks down high-altitude autonomous drones, centimetre-level imagery at satellite-beating costs, real-time aerial data, and what flying at 45,000 ft unlocks for defence, infra, and climate use cases.3/ Krishnakumar Natarajan — Managing Partner, Mela Ventures; Ex-Co-founder, MindtreeLessons from building Mindtree into a $2.5B global firm, how founder evaluation changes with scale, equity vs patient capital like the ₹1 lakh crore RDI fund, and what kinds of Indian companies give him the most hope in an AI-first world.🎧 Watch, subscribe, and join our WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BK69EsNWP8BJIaoy3k7EfX?mode=ac_tFollow us:X → https://x.com/OfflineOnAirInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/theofflinenetworkLinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/offlineonairWebsite → https://www.theoffline.network#TheOfflineNetwork #IndiaTech #Startups #VentureCapital #AI #Drones #Aerospace #Arctus #UntitledVentures #MelaVentures #Mindtree #Compute #AgenticAI #Commerce #FIFA2026
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Anmol Maini (Untitled Ventures) | Shreepoorna Rao (Arctus) | KK (Mela Ventures) | Episode 45
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