Flipkart Cofounder Binny Bansal To Launch AI Startup

Binny Bansal is looking to launch a new AI-as-a-service startup. The startup is currently in stealth mode and plans to offer services in the field of financial services and data science and analytics, emulating the business model of outsourcing providers like Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.

It aims to roll out products and services and begin marketing in the second half of 2024, according to a Bloomberg report.

The startup will be headquartered in Singapore with Bengaluru being the centre of operations. Bansal has hired 15 experts for the venture — mostly artificial intelligence scientists — and plans to quickly add more.

Bansal moved to Singapore after selling his first startup, ecommerce unicorn Flipkart to Walmart at a $16 Bn valuation in 2018.

Post exiting Flipkart, Bansal founded SaaS-based consultancy startup xto10x Technologies. He also continued to sell his stake in Flipkart between 2019 and 2022, thereby giving him leverage to invest in new companies as an angel investor as well as continue with his entrepreneurial journey.

For instance, In 2019, he sold a stake worth $90 Mn to Tiger Global across two deals. In 2019, he sold shares worth $76 Mn to Luxembourg entity FIT Holdings SARL, owned and operated by Walmart. In 2022, he sold a stake worth $264 Mn (around INR 2,060 Cr) to Chinese tech giant Tencent.

The Flipkart cofounder is a prolific investor in Indian startups, having backed PhonePe, Curefoods, Acko, Ather Energy, Yulu, Rupeek, Unacademy, Inshorts and Tracxn. Per Inc42 data, Binny Bansal has backed 49 startups since 2014, directly or indirectly.

Most of Bansal’s investments are routed through entities such as Singapore-based Three State Capital, 021 Capital and xto10x Technologies. According to Inc42 data, Binny Bansal and his investment entities have been a part of funding rounds worth $658 Mn between 2014 and February 2023.

Earlier in August 2023, reports also surfaced that Bansal is mulling plans to set up a startup in the cross-border ecommerce space. The new venture will steer clear of the consumer-facing ecommerce segment and will rather offer allied services such as design, product and manpower to Indian and global ecommerce firms.