From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’

From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’

SUMMARY

Stoa says Zeus is an organisation alignment platform that helps companies build “focus and momentum” for their teams

In early access beta, Zeus is launching with a wide set of features that cover tasks such as minutes of meetings, work assignment, research and more.

Stoa School, billed as an alternative to traditional MBA courses or B schools, continues to coexist with Zeus, but the startup had halted new sign-ups earlier this year

Bengaluru-based Stoa, the poster child of alternative MBA courses, is piloting a new AI-based enterprise agent platform called Zeus. 

The startup claims that Zeus is an organisation alignment platform that helps companies “build focus and momentum” for their team, but by all indications, it is an AI enterprise agent that automates workflows and tasks for large teams. 

While not much information is available on the website, Stoa cofounders Aditya Kulkarni and Raj Kunkolienkar have teased the new product on LinkedIn for several weeks now. While Kulkarni called Zeus a CEO’s best friend, Kunkolienkar said it is an “AI Chief of Staff”.

Their posts indicate that Zeus is an app built into the email inbox. Users can ask questions or seek suggestions for particular tasks, and Zeus is meant to respond with appropriate actions or answers, as is the case with other agents and enterprise chatbots. 

As per Kunkolienkar’s post, Zeus is launching with a wide set of features that cover tasks such as minutes of meetings, work assignment, research and more.  

  • Send personalised emails to people in the organisation after meetings, even if they haven’t attended the meeting
  • Can take instructions over the call and dispatch work to people
  • Do internet research on topics discussed
  • Draft documents/mails
  • Brainstorm and come up with solutions
  • Ask for elaboration on points
  • Relay messages to others

Inc42 could not get more clarity from Stoa about Zeus despite multiple attempts to contact the founders. Currently, Stoa is accepting early-access applications for Zeus.

From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’

Stoa School, billed as an alternative to traditional MBA courses or B schools, continues to coexist with Zeus, but the dates for the next cohort are not yet available. It’s not clear whether Stoa will run both verticals going forward. 

Incidentally, The Ken reported earlier this year that Stoa shut its MBA school operations as it failed to fill up the last cohort. Cofounder and CEO Kulkarni said at the time that the startup had only pressed pause on operations and was reevaluating its next steps.

“We will not accept any more students for the foreseeable future. Within 6–8 weeks, we will announce the next form factor that Stoa School will shape into,” he said at the time. No further updates have come since then. 

Riding The AI Boom

Founded in 2020 by Kulkarni, Raj Kunkolienkar, and Manoj Kambadur, Stoa has served over 1,500 students across 15 cohorts. 

It reported a revenue of INR 15.9 Cr in FY23, a 160.6% jump from INR 6.1 Cr in FY22. It also managed to narrow its loss by 43.8% to INR 43.9 Lakh from INR 78.2 Lakh in FY22. It’s not clear how Stoa performed in FY24 as the startup is yet to file its financials. 

Stoa’s pivot to an AI agent or chatbot is unsurprising given the current Gen AI boom. As enterprises and individuals adopt AI and machine learning tools to automate tasks, reduce human error and increase efficiency, a number of Indian startups are building AI-based products. These startups are also receiving a lot of interest from investors.

Stoa raised $1.5 Mn in seed funding in late 2021 and is backed by marquee investors such as Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath, CRED’s Kunal Shah, Udemy’s Gagan Biyani, Myntra’s Raveen Sastry, among others. 

Stoa competes against the likes of Masters’ Union, Invact Metaversity, Mesa School of Business, among others. Besides this, edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has also entered the space with its Institute Of Innovation, which offers MBA-like courses. 

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become An Inc42 Plus Member

Become a Startup Insider in 2024 with Inc42 Plus. Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in India’s startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
Unlock 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
Unlock 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’-Inc42 Media
From MBA To GenAI: Stoa Makes Hard Pivot To Enterprise Agent ‘Zeus’-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company