BENGALURU: Husband-and-wife team Anand Chandrasekaran and Ashwini Asokan, founders of artificial intelligence startup Mad Street Den, are living examples of the adage ‘opposites attract.’ While Chandrasekaran is logical in his approach, Asokan likes to give context that is relevant and practical.
An IIT-Madras graduate with a doctorate in neuroscience engineering and neuromorphic engineering, Chandrasekaran wanted to take artificial intelligence out of the labs and into the real world. A dancer and designer, Asokan looks into the social side of things. When Chandrasekaran reached the end of his academic journey in the US, he and Asokan packed their bags and returned to India with their three-year-old daughter in 2013.
They spent the first year working out of Asokan’s house with a small team, understanding the complex business environment in India. 2015 was the year for them to prove product-market fit and they got a seed round of $1.5 million from Exfinity Technology Fund and Delhi-based GrowX Ventures. “Our early investors have given us tremendous support and Sequoia has been around like a friend, supporting us with no strings,” saYS Asokan.
The duo raised a series A round from Sequoia and existing investors last week. With companies such as Tata Cliq, Voonik, Craftsvilla in their portfolio, Mad Street Den intends to focus on growing their first vertical, Vue.ai (retail product), developing a second vertical, and scaling up globally.
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