UpStreamVoice

Hosted by Vishal Krishna

Business EntrepreneurshipInterviews guests

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Episodes

144

Latest episode

Nov 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

UpStreamVoice offers an editorial approach to content creation and it focuses on capturing the intellectual foundations of an organization. While social media and marketing content are important, our approach prioritizes storytelling that resonates with stakeholders. UpStreamVoice creates narratives that capture the essence of their organization. By emphasizing conversations that truly matter for your leadership we believe in creating a communications system that help your organization achieve lasting success.

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60 recent

November 4, 202659 min

TDK Ventures and Exponent Energy: Building an energy company

Nicolas Sauvage of TDK Ventures and Arun Vinayak of Exponent Energy join Vishal Krishna and Shreyas Mishra to discuss rapid charging for commercial electric vehicles, customer economics and building an energy company. Arun explains why Exponent started with three-wheelers, how customer needs shape its charging and battery systems, and what it takes to expand into buses and vehicle retrofits. The conversation covers design thinking, jugaad, financing and the practical work of building a business around selling energy. Nicolas and Arun discuss what corporate venture capital can bring to a startup, why patient capital still needs a sense of urgency, and how Indian deep tech companies can think about global markets. The episode concludes with a factory tour covering quality inspection, laser welding, battery cycling and thermal-chamber testing. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 1:13 Why commercial vehicles 4:23 Choosing customers and the energy business 14:04 Design thinking and jugaad 22:56 Investor support and financing 30:46 Fast charging and battery life 40:02 Automating quality first 44:07 Retrofitting vehicles 49:22 Patient capital and urgency 54:59 Factory tour 55:40 Quality checks and laser welding 58:13 Battery cycling and reliability Guests: Nicolas Sauvage, TDK Ventures; Arun Vinayak, Exponent Energy Hosts: Vishal Krishna and Shreyas Mishra More conversations: https://upstreamvoice.com Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Upstream-Voice #TDKVentures #ExponentEnergy #ElectricVehicles Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

October 29, 202654 min

Quantum Computing, Sensing and AI | Prof. Arindam Ghosh, IISc

What can quantum technology do beyond building a faster computer? Professor Arindam Ghosh of IISc Bengaluru joins Shreyas Mishra to discuss quantum computing, sensing and communication, and how founders and students can find a way into the field. This conversation was made possible courtesy of the Infosys Science Foundation (ISF). The Foundation’s Infosys Prize recognises outstanding research and encourages young people to pursue careers in science. Professor Arindam Ghosh received the 2020 Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences. The prize recognised his work on atomically thin semiconductors for new electronic devices, energy conversion and light detection. The conversation begins with his research on atomically thin materials and light detectors, then follows his journey from Kolkata to IISc and Cambridge. He explains why shared clean-room facilities helped him return to India, how cricket gives a difficult research problem room to breathe, and why engineering a useful quantum computer still demands basic research. We discuss post-quantum cryptography, access to quantum processors, sensing applications, and the role of materials and devices across the field. His advice to founders is to identify a use case and work backwards to the expertise it needs. For students, he makes the case for learning quantum fundamentals alongside AI. We close with graphene, silicon and what tiny electrical fluctuations can tell a physicist about a material. CHAPTERS 0:00 Teaser: quantum entanglement 0:18 Short introduction 0:33 Conversation: Planck's constant and light detectors 3:25 From Kolkata to Cambridge 10:26 Returning to India, clean rooms and cricket 15:04 Engineering quantum technology 16:57 Quantum computing: progress and challenges 21:47 Quantum computing, cryptography and access 25:36 Quantum sensing and its applications 30:57 Quantum communication and eavesdropping 35:12 Starting a quantum technology company 41:41 Advice for students: quantum and AI 46:27 Graphene, silicon and two-dimensional materials 50:18 When noise becomes a signal Guest: Professor Arindam Ghosh, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru Host: Shreyas Mishra Recorded at IISc on 12 October 2026. Disclosure: Prof. Ghosh is a co-founder of Quan2D Technologies, an IISc-incubated startup working on 2D materials and quantum-sensing devices. This conversation reflects the guest's research experience and outlook. Proposed applications and timelines are discussed as possibilities, not guarantees. About the guest: https://physics.iisc.ac.in/people/arindam-ghosh/ Infosys Prize 2020, Physical Sciences: https://www.infosysprize.org/laureates/2020/arindam-ghosh.html Charts, chapters and the full transcript: https://upstreamvoice.com/podcasts/178.html More conversations: https://upstreamvoice.com Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Upstream-Voice #ArindamGhosh #QuantumComputing # Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

October 23, 202648 min

IIT Madras Director Kamakoti on Deep Tech, Quantum and Startup Customers

What does it take to turn research into a company that customers trust? In this press Q&A, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, joins Bhaskar Majumdar, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Unicorn India Ventures, and Natarajan (Nat) Malupillai, Group CEO of IIT Madras Research Park, to discuss the growth of India's deep-tech startups. The panel discusses patient capital, opportunities in quantum technologies, student-led innovation, patents and the path from an idea to a working product. They also examine customer adoption: how large companies can work with startups, and what founders need to do to deliver dependable products. Other topics include industry–academia collaboration, the IIT Madras Research Park, the Shakti processor and frugal research. Recorded by UpStreamVoice. 0:00 Opening and questions on space tech and quantum 0:47 Patient capital and the Ather example 2:53 Keeping engineers in core engineering 5:11 Agnirath and student engineering projects 6:08 Quantum technologies and applications 8:12 India's opportunities in quantum 9:27 How startups are evaluated 12:46 Bhaskar Majumdar on patience and valuation 15:34 Building investable startups at IIT Madras 18:58 Patents and the patent-a-day ambition 21:48 The student innovation and entrepreneurship pathway 25:15 The next challenge: customers and purchase orders 29:58 Government and corporate customers 31:37 Buying Indian products: an anecdote 34:07 Industry–academia collaboration 36:06 The Research Park's collaboration model 38:34 Technology sovereignty, Shakti and frugal research 42:11 Frugal AI and solving specific problems 43:42 Encouraging enterprises to buy from startups 46:34 Product readiness and trust in both directions 47:37 Building customer confidence and a call to corporates #IITMadras #Kamakoti #DeepTech #UpStreamVoice Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

October 7, 202613 min

Why a ₹100 Crore Chip Startup Was Worth ₹680 Crore 9 Months Later: a quick chat with Unicorn India Ventures

A semiconductor startup went from a ₹100 crore valuation to ₹650–680 crore in nine months, and its auditors couldn't understand how. Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, which has just launched a deep tech fund with IIT Madras, explains how deep tech actually gets valued, and why it needs different rules. On 26 September 2026, IIT Madras and Unicorn India Ventures announced the ₹450 crore first close of IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I, a deep tech fund with a ₹1,000 crore target. The same day, UpStreamVoice sat down with Bhaskar Majumdar. He explains why deep tech is "not a gut-feel business", what a fund inside a university can see that other VCs can't, why his firm now recruits PhDs instead of MBAs, why two-thirds of its investments are outside Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai, and how you keep investors patient over a 10–12 year fund. 00:00 Deep tech needs different rules 00:36 A fund born inside a university 03:38 Not a gut-feel business 05:00 Beyond Bombay, Bangalore and Delhi 07:30 Build the portfolio, back the winners 08:12 Two ecosystems, two DNAs 09:45 Valuing what has no cash flow yet 10:36 From measuring air to cleaning it 11:44 Keeping investors patient Guest: Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures Host: Shreyas Mishra Recorded 26 September 2026. Fund figures on screen are from IIT Madras and Unicorn India Ventures' first-close announcement (26 Sept 2026). Figures about Unicorn India's own portfolio are as described by Bhaskar Majumdar in this interview. Maps show boundaries as recognised by India. Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

September 1, 20261 hr 18 min

The story behind each company - the learning of Prequate from advising 700 businesses

In this episode we bring you a company that has been growing with all the startups and SMBs in India. 00:00 - Introduction 06:30 - Working Startups and SMEs 11:40 - Finding a solution for business. 15:51 - Finding the continuity for legacy business transformation. 22:47 - Building a consulting business. 35:31 - The evolution of technology and business: AI transformation. 48:17 - All things AI don't work for the moment. 01:03:00 - Going beyond services. 01:12:00 - Ensuring legacy business transforms. Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

August 4, 202642 min

Business management simplified: Tally's path towards enabling SMEs in the AI era

In this episode I talk with Tejas Goenka, the Managing Director of Tally Solutions. TheUpStreamLife delves deeper into the soul of the company that has built India's accounting software story. Find out what the path of Tejas Goenka would be in making this company go deeper into the Indian and global SME industry. Already running into the millions of users, its one of the most valuable software companies built in India and its truly Indian in every essence. 00:00 - Introduction 00:50 - Tally as an operating system. 02:38 - Built for the Indian SME. 06:18 - SMEs being similar globally. 09:23 - The different layers of Tally. 17:55 - Creating an insights layer for the Banks. 22:07 - Building market winning products and DPIIT 28:01 - India's entrepreneurial stories. 33:13 - Tally 7.1 and scaling up AI initiatives. 38:00 - Books and other inspirations. Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

July 6, 20264 min

Rise of social impact startups in IIM-CIP & the North-East: in-conversation with chairman Ajay Jain

In this episode we talk with Chairman of the IIMCIP, Ajay Jain, who has been through forty years of entrepreneurship and is now paying it forward as a professor and startup mentor. He talks about how the North-East part of India is going to attract several startups in the years to come and why IIMCIP is playing a vital role in its growth. @iimcalcutta 00:00 - Introduction to the podcast 01:21 - Learning from the Corporate world 05:20 - Career in Kuwait and the stepping stone to business. 08:44 - Why Institutions will create social impact going forward. 14:33 - The balance to create innovation that makes impact. 18:11 - Academia/Corporate partnership - will it become mainstream. 23:12 - Carrying empathy to build a business. 29:00 - Supporting the North-East Corridor to become a startup centre. 33:03 - Why North East supports some great opportunities. 35:55 - The North East will change going forward. 41:03 - Role of government, going beyond grants. 49:00 - What does it take for innovation to work in the future 54:42 - Building future leaders. Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

June 22, 20261 hr 2 min

Why schools still need edtech, STEM interventions & test prep that matters: the SpeEdLabs story

In this episode I talk with Vivek Varshney, the founder of SpeEdLabs, a test prep company that has survived the test of being a startup and is now growing to become a preferred partner for schools in smaller towns. How did Vivek and team do this, lets find out. 00:00 - Introduction. 01:22 - Being an IIT/IIM grad and going on to set up a startup. 05:25 - Education is the only currency to come out of poverty. 10:30 - Building a startup is all about product market fit, the first customer. 15:30 - Outcomes decide the future of a startup, why B2B worked. 20:09 - The elements that worked for SpeEdLabs. 30:00 - How should one prepare for tests? 34:00 - Having the playbook ready? 42:00 - Why schools are going to enable parents? 45:33 - The AI in the app and the future playbook. 49:50 - How is the SpeEdLabs journey going into AI? 55:15 - The future of education in India. Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

June 18, 202657 min

The journey of Prequate, how Pradyumna went from Yeshas Academy to setting up an advisory firm

In this episode we talk about the growth of an idea, how Pradyumna went from being a back bencher to setting up an advisory/investment banking firm that works with the brightest startups and large corporations. This interview covers his student days and also covers how investment banking works. 00:00 - Introduction 00:34 - The objective of the Disha Series with Mentorsforkids.in - an introduction by Pavan Sharma, partner at BCL India 04:00 - The reason why MentorsForKids wants employability. 06:00 - The journey of Pradyumna 16:20 - Building a network for I-Banking 24:15 - Working with engineers to build business, commerce students deploy money. 27:28 - Why AI is expensive and how Prequate works with technology. 41:00 - Being ready for work life. 45:00 - Conversation with students Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube

June 15, 202638 min

Lab to business: AI native platform LatentForce fixes enterprise code migration with scale & context

In this episode Ideaspring Capital's Naganand Doraswamy talks with deep tech startup LatentForce, which has a special combination of a research professor and his students who are building the business as founders. This fascinating story showcases how Indian science is scaling globally. 00:00 - Introduction 00:34 - Genesis of LatentForce 05:40 - From lab to business 06:59 - Keeping in touch with disruptions in AI 15:00 - From professor to thinking business 17:53 - LatentForce is solving code migration with context 22:00 - Taking the business to customers 25:25 - Getting great talent. 35:39 - Revenue pipeline of the company Support the show Thanks for Listening! Follow Us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or Find us on YouTube