Indian-American CEO’s hilariously honest take on raising $61 million for startup | Trending News

Indian-American CEO’s hilariously honest take on raising $61 million for startup

Published on: Nov 06, 2025 02:28 PM IST

Giga, a San Francisco-based startup by two IIT Kharagpur alums, has raised $61 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures.

Giga, a San Francisco-based startup by two IIT Kharagpur alums, has raised $61 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures. The startup, which builds voice-based AI agents for companies, was founded by Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep in 2023.

Varun Vummadi is the co-founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based Giga
Varun Vummadi is the co-founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based Giga

While Esha Manideep serves as co-founder and CTO of Giga, Varun Vummadi is the co-founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based AI lab.

A candid take

In a video announcing the $61 million fundraising success, Vummadi and Manideep revealed their AI agents handle hundreds of thousands of conversations every day.

Manideep, sharing the video on X, diplomatically said that he was not excited about the $61 million they had raised, but was rather excited about what the company would do going forward.

Vummadi was a little less diplomatic. “I am excited about the $61 Million,” the India-American CEO of Giga said in a candid post that has gone viral on the social media platform.

Vummadi's hilariously honest take on the funding amused many.

“Lol. Well done guys!” wrote one X user. “Lol I was going to say that sounds disingenuous. Congrats on the $61M!” another added.

According to a report in Fortune, Giga’s Series A funding was led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator and Nexus Venture Partners. The startup is already working with food delivery company DoorDash.

(Also read: IITian CEO slams Indian techies, says they don’t want to work 6 days a week ‘even with 1 crore salary’)

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