[theme music playing]
[music intensifies]
Oh my God!
Oh my God! Oura Ring!
Oh my God, I am wearing it.
- You are wearing Ultrahuman. - Yeah! This will be fun.
What do you check with it?
I check sleep, walk and wake-up time.
This is tough.
He will eat him up, Mr. Gupta.
Didn't boAt make a ring?
Is this boAt's ring?
Your competitor is here today.
Children come and go.
[theme music playing]
Sharks, the future is here.
Before we leap into the future,
shall we take a moment to rewind?
There was a time when cash was everything.
All payments used to be made in cash.
Then came plastic debit and credit cards,
which we used to swipe on POS machines.
Swipe cards evolved into dip cards.
And dip cards transformed into tap cards.
But now, the technology of 'tap to pay'
payments is available in wearables too.
You can tap from your hand...
[machine beeps]
- And make payments. - Wow!
'Received Paytm payment of Rs. 1.'
We are Team Seven from Mumbai.
And we make fast, cool and seamless
payment wearable smart rings.
With this, you can make a payment with a single tap,
anytime and anywhere.
which is powered by UPI.
You can use 7 Ring in any shopping mall, cafeteria,
and small grocery shop too
You can also use it as a metro train card.
...each with fully granted utility patents.
...and sell 30 lakh rings in the next three years.
You will see a box on your tables.
Show me your hands.
Make a fist.
And tap to pay.
- Can we try? - Yes, sure.
Yeah! There will be a beep.
- Yes. - That's it?
- 'Received Paytm payment of Rs...' - Interesting.
There is a security feature in it. If your palm is stretched out
and if someone puts your hand like this, the payment won't process.
It transmits like a pipe.
If I position it like this,
the transmission will move in that direction
instead of going into the box.
- Look! - As you see, it says 'error reading card'.
That's amazing.
Wow, guys! Welcome to Shark Tank.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you, Peyush.
I know there's a lot of evolution happening.
It's the first time that I've heard of payment through a smart ring.
The inspiration behind this idea was an Apple Watch.
I've been following Apple's history for quite some time.
Look at how we went from mainframe computers to laptops,
then to iPads, and now computers have become a part of your wrist.
So, I thought, what will they do next?
As they say, if you want to ride a wave,
you need to be ready with your surfboard
before the wave reaches you.
That was the thought process behind it.
We believed that smart rings would be prolific in the future,
so we started with that.
So, you've done the complete engineering yourself.
- You're not just importing and selling it. - No.
We do import raw materials.
We develop the mobile app that comes with this product.
We also assemble it here.
We have designed all the assembly, manufacturing,
and tooling for this ourselves.
It requires certifications from Mastercard, Visa, and RuPay.
We have obtained those lab certifications.
...and when it is active,
it draws power from the electromagnetic field inside it.
It is also called EMF.
It gets the data and the payment is done.
We have a 7 Ring.
We have two more variants. 7 Ring Air. Karthik is wearing it.
We also make 7 Ring Gold.
Are these three models separate?
- Yes! - This one is for Rs. 7,000
- and that is for Rs. 1,500. - No, this is for Rs. 4,500.
- You sell it for Rs. 4,500? This mentions Rs. 7,000. - Yes.
7 Ring Air is for Rs. 1,500.
This one will start from Rs. 27,000 based on the weight of the gold.
What is the difference between
- Rs. 4,500 and Rs. 1,500 ring? - The difference is
that we give you 1% full cashback in 7 Ring.
- So, payments and transit, Varun. - And transit.
When it comes to payments, the merchant
has the opportunity to wait for a few minutes.
But transit is a fast environment.
You have to tap and leave.
We want to show you a video.
- Sure. - Let's watch it.
'Hello, today I would like to tell you how you can use 7 Ring'
'and travel in a metro.'
'Go to the gate, make a fist,'
'and place your hand like this'
'on NFC Contactless reader and the gate will open.'
'Whichever metro station you exit'
'that metro gate will withdraw money from your ring automatically.'
'So, you don't have to buy a ticket to travel in a metro,'
'7 Ring is enough.'
This can be done from your watch through NFC.
There are a few watches connected to Mastercard and Visa but not RuPay.
This NCMC feature of metro is exclusive to RuPay.
Is this for nationwide metros?
NCMC is National Common Mobility Card.
- This will apply to all forms of multi-mode public transport. - Yes.
If someone wears a boAt ring
or Ultrahuman, there are rings available.
- There is Oura Ring. - Yes.
So, do you have to wear that ring and this ring as well?
How many rings? Soon, our fingers will be full of rings.
Like Mogambo.
The target customers and target groups are not the same.
In the future, there will be many rings
that cater to both health and payment.
But if you are unable to bring it below a particular price point,
that will make it difficult to achieve mass market adoption.
What we thought about is that people already have watches
to track their health.
If we are giving affordable rings to people to make payments,
then they will adopt this.
Because you don't have to charge this.
It is an accessory that complements your personality.
Apple is the big gorilla in the smartphone and wearable industry.
How will you counter that?
- Why doesn't the Apple Watch work in India? - RBI.
There are two reasons, according to RBI norms,
you can't do this without 2FA,
which is two-factor authentication.
- Yes! - Apple is not the game.
There is also boAt.
- They don't have to localise Apple. - Correct.
- And that is the advantage that they have. - Yes.
If I am wearing a boAt watch,
I won't have to buy your ring.
If not today, maybe a year from now.
Anupam, it's not a zero-sum game.
It's not that if boAt takes some market share,
I won't get mine
or if boAt's market share decreases, then only mine will grow.
It's a growing market.
This means there is space for us to exist and grow as well.
That is not the case. Sorry, I am being deliberate about this.
The argument is, is there a need for it or will it be over?
There are people who don't like to wear a smartwatch.
- They can buy it. - I don't wear a smartwatch or a smart ring.
You have to charge products. You charge your phone,
earphones, iPads and laptops.
If someone doesn't wish to buy a smartwatch,
our ring doesn't need charging.
- That is our biggest USP. - What do you think?
The market is growing.
But on health.
On payment, I don't know yet.
Because you have to sign up with every bank.
It has a lot of security parameters.
Payment via rings is something I'm also hearing for the first time.
Let's do this. Let's talk about your history.
In 2005, I joined Citibank as a DSA...
Our foundation was laid in 2017
when we started pitching to banks and angel investors.
...by RBI because of their violation of data policy.
We became collateral damage
as we hadn't launched yet, and our entire
inventory was built around Mastercard.
So, you can say our company was shut for 1.5 years.
What did you do when it was shut down for 1.5 years?
There were no salaries as there was no capital in the company.
We invested everything in the launch.
At that time, many startups were working on the Web3 blockchain.
Within our network, we developed code
for other founders, outsourced it to them
- and earned money. That's how we... - Good.
- You didn't get a job again. - No!
After 1.5 years, what made you decide to finally revive it?
In 2022, we went to RuPay.
At that time, RuPay was still about six months away from being ready
for contactless acceptance and encouraged us
to wait and supported us. They waived
the certification fees and licensing costs,
which typically amounts to around Rs. 9-Rs.10 lakhs.
We essentially had to start all over again,
rebuilding everything we had achieved in the first three years
So, we have to launch it.
We will launch and run it for a couple of years
and even if we fail, that's fine, but we must launch it.
- Wow! What a spirit! - Nice!
You are determined. This means you raised funds.
We only raised approximately Rs. 2-Rs. 2.25 crores
- in seven years. - When?
We raised Rs. 50 lakhs in 2018.
- This was at Rs. 10 crores post-money. - Okay.
Following that, we conducted a small bridge round, raising Rs. 65 lakhs
at a pre-money valuation of Rs. 25 crores.
When RuPay partnered with us,
we raised Rs. 39 lakhs.
This was at 12.5 crores.
You can say it was a down round
because we needed it as we didn't have any revenue for a long time.
- Nothing bad about that. - Yes.
Last year, a month after our launch,
they conducted Rs. 72 lakhs CCD round for us,
with a cap of Rs. 50 crores.
You are asking for Rs. 75 crores.
We are currently in a funding round for Rs. 8 crores
and we have received a term sheet for Rs. 2 crores
through an angel network.
And this is at a valuation of Rs. 75 crores?
This is at Rs. 66 crores pre-money.
We added Rs. 9 crores.
That we are doing a round of Rs. 8-Rs. 9 crores,
so the post-money valuation is at Rs. 75 crores.
What are the roles of all three of you?
I am the CEO, and I handle business management,
- overall vision, marketing. - We can see that what do they do?
I am a CTO.
I handle technical development, where I assist
with both backend and product development.
I am the Chief Production Officer, responsible for overseeing
production and inventory management.
I have a feeling that you hold a significant portion of the equity,
while they have a comparatively smaller stake.
- What does the cap table look like? - No.
- So, I own around 48%. - 48%. Okay!
Roughly 15%-16%.
Roughly 17%.
How many rings have you sold to date?
Roughly 3,000 net.
How many were active last month?
If you mean at least one payment,
- it is 1,000 rings. - At least one payment last month.
- Why are 2,000 customers not using it? - What happens is...
We've noticed that
someone used it in April, but they didn't use it in May.
This is not that product.
If you don't use this every day,
then it will reach a corner of a drawer
- Has your transit integration been completed? - We will launch it.
So, that's your killer use case.
Until that happens,
you are not going to be able to see any traction.
- Meaningful traction. - You are right.
- Yes! - When will that go live?
Our pilot testing and CUG testing are completed.
In transit, we will get 0.4%, Peyush.
You think so now.
Okay! We will do that.
What is your projection for the next three years?
Sir, last quarter's revenue was Rs. 35 lakhs.
- Transactions? Or... - This is the sales revenue of the ring.
- Okay! - Q1 was Rs. 26 lakhs.
And last financial year was Rs. 61 lakhs.
Let's take Q1.
You sold rings worth Rs. 26 lakhs.
How many transactions were made?
In April, May and June,
After a certain point, we'll phase it out.
The problem is that it still hasn't been proven.
And your valuation is way too much.
Your standout use case in transportation
will become a habit, leading people to adopt it for other purposes.
- That hasn't been launched yet. - Yes.
Underwriting it at Rs. 75 crores or even Rs. 50 crores
doesn't make sense.
- Good luck! I am out. - Thank you.
The ring market is growing.
Incorporate health into it as well.
We can grow the market together.
But I want to ask you to run faster.
Let's meet in the market.
- What is your decision? - I am out.
In India, more than 50% of the world's
digital transactions take place
- because of how seamless UPI is. - Correct.
A product like this has a lot of potential.
And you are offering 1% cashback.
It's a thoughtful business.
There is a 5% probability
that this will be adopted in the same way as UPI.
There is a 95% probability that it won't work.
I would still like to make a conservative bet on this.
- Oh, wow! - Thank you!
- Wow! - I can't give you the valuation
as much as your current round.
Because I think that's very steep.
I will offer you Rs. 50 lakhs for 1%, which is Rs. 50 crores.
Which is higher than all your past rounds.
And higher than your cap.
And Rs. 25 lakhs in debt at 10% for three years.
So, to reduce my risk, I just wanted to check
if Vineeta would like to split it with me.
Split the same offer.
- Okay! Yeah! - I don't want to negotiate.
And when the wave comes, they get on it.
This is the right wave.
There is an opportunity here for sure.
I feel that
I can help you in the whole ecosystem.
Because we do process
a lot of transactions
on the NFC machine format in our stores in India.
Because we need to cross its threshold and see the use case.
- After that, there is an opportunity to go out. - Correct.
My offer is straight! Rs. 75 lakhs with 3% equity.
Considering the infrastructure
and technology needed for this,
I see a lot of strategic value that I can bring to the table for you.
We'll take a few minutes.
Don't take seven years.
No! Seven minutes.
Sir, Vijay!
- 'Yeah!' - 'I am calling you from the tank.'
Vineeta, if you are out, then Rs. 75 lakhs for 5%.
Or the three of us can go in for Rs. 75 lakhs for 5%.
- Yes, I am okay with that. - I don't mind that
if we can swing it.
We are fine with the valuation if Vineeta, Peyush and Varun
can come together
for Rs. 75 lakhs, Rs. 25 lakhs each at a Rs. 50 crores valuation.
He has built ACKO. It's a fintech.
He has already shared his long list of expertise.
- And I love making good-looking products. - Yeah!
So, we'll offer you Rs. 75 lakhs. All three of us will come in.
This will be at 5%.
We are currently at Rs. 66 lakhs.
Since we are on Shark Tank, we can consider
your offer of Rs. 50 lakhs for 1%,
as it does not go below
our previous cap
without needing much restructuring.
Listen, when I gave you the offer, I mentioned
a surfer... You shared the story
- that surfers have to wait for the waves. - Yeah!
You didn't get on the wave, so that wave left.
I am okay if we all do Rs. 75 lakhs for 3%.
Which is Rs. 25 crores, your minimum floor.
If you don't value us for even 1% then...
Ah...
Peyush, we can't go below the valuation of Rs. 50 crores
at this stage.
Because we are the only one in this business.
- We have done the heavy lifting. - See, it's up to you. You're smart.
You can either optimise valuation
in a business like this right now.
Or you can optimise what you want to make it.
I am clear about this.
What do you want to do? Decision time.
So, we won't be able to take the current offer.
[music playing]
But we will be happy if you can come at
1.5% for all three of you. Rs. 25 lakhs each.
Please below 1%...
Vijay, let me help you.
You are a smart guy.
Your existing investor has been backing you for around 7 years.
- And not much has happened. - Yeah!
If you need them, find some way to make it work.
If you don't need them, then leave.
If you can figure out a way where we can give you
the remaining stake in advisory...
Of course! We do it all the time.
- Of course. - But not bring the valuation under Rs. 50 crores.
- Whichever way. - We will not.
Rs. 75 lakhs for 3%. Is that a deal?
At a valuation of Rs. 50 crores, it's a deal.
Yes! Do it at 75.
[music playing]
- Deal accepted? - Deal accepted.
- Okay! Good decision. - Good!
I believe that while I'm unsure of the value,
transaction-wise, India accounts
for 50% of the world's digital transactions.
This is largely because UPI has made transactions seamless.
I believe that such a technology might be a flop,
but if it works,
then this will become a business worth thousands of crores.
For me, the founders who are behind this business,
I think that was also a very important factor for me.
After such a long time, more than 90% of people's patience
runs out.
The way I am looking at this is that this is the tap equivalent of UPI.
And there is no need to charge it.
You don't have to do that. So, I think this can be pretty big.
These two came in. Otherwise, I would have had a big deal.
- Peyush! - Let's go.
[music playing]
Welcome to ACKO Changemakers,
where we really welcome change.
And we saw a beautiful portrayal of this on our changemakers wall.
With innovation and connectivity,
we are creating a digitally empowered and sustainable future.
And we have today's changemakers with us.
Vijay, Karthik and Mahek.
- It was an excellent pitch. - Thank you.
That is when I make the payment.
These days, there's one thing that most people are struggling with
- and that is there are many frauds related to payments. - Yes.
I have a question on behalf of the audience who is at home.
What changes can they make in their daily lives,
their approach, and their mindset
to protect themselves from such frauds?
If you get a link in an email
- or SMS you need to verify whether the link is authentic. - Okay.
Also, our product
is not connected to your bank account,
it is connected to UPI.
You can use it, which has a good security feature.
- You are bringing a good change. - Hmm.
Similarly, ACKO, with their revolutionary offering,
is transforming the insurance landscape.
Now, while buying car insurance,
you don't have to worry about numerous calls.
Avoid confusion regarding price and policy coverage.
Buy car insurance directly from ACKO.
It's easy, transparent and hassle-free.
And pay the right premium.
To appreciate this change you are bringing
and giving us your time on Shark Tank,
we have a gift for you from Shark Tank and ACKO.
Here you go.
[camera shutter clicks]
[theme music playing]
Hi, Sharks. I am Anmol and I am 21 years old.
- Oh my! - And I am Rohit Thakur, 24 years old.
And we are The Future Animations.
- Would you all like to see it? - Please show it to us.
All five Shark deal.
'Wow! That's exciting.'
'You've built a great brand. Let's get it on the right boAt.'
'Change your lenses and choose the right Shark.
'You need to increase the value.'
'So, Varun and I will come in together.'
'I am unable to digest that you are even considering their offer.'
[laughing]
Crazy!
- Really! - Lovely!
So, Sharks! This is how the founders who come here envision their future.
You never know, this could turn into reality.
A similar future is what we envision as well.
To elevate Indian animation to the global map
with the exceptional quality of our animation.
Where clients often face challenges like creative blocks,
timeline delays,
...international-level, high-quality animations
in less time and at a lower cost.
and in the right skill set,
rather than spending on expensive studios.
We hire artists from around the globe.
...we simplify into four easy steps for them.
Because of this, in the last four years,
we've worked with more than 400 clients.
Out of which 99% of clients are international.
...along with servicing clients,
we would like to launch original content IPs
- Anmol and Rohit, welcome to the Tank. - Thank you, sir.
My first question to you is, can I see that again?
Sure!
- Let's do this. So fun! - Come on!
- Let's watch it again. It was fun. - Super fun.
'Wow! That's exciting.'
'You've built a great brand. Let's get it on the right boAt.'
'I will help you with my connections.'
'My offer is Rs. 50 lakhs for 3%.'
'I just did an ad with Karan Johar.'
'They can't give you any connection.'
'I will provide more connection than them.'
'Change your lenses and choose the right Shark.
'My offer is Rs. 75 lakhs for 4%.'
'Listen, I won't sugarcoat like them.'
'You need to increase the value.'
'So, Varun and I will come in together.'
'Rs. 1 crore for 6%.'
'We will also team up. Will they give more value than us?'
'Both of us are joining.'
'We will give you Rs. 1 crore for 5%.'
'I am unable to digest that you are even considering their offer.'
'Listen to the real Shark's offer.'
'I will give you Rs. 2 crores for 10%.'
'Here is my cheque. I think we have a deal, guys.'
[laughing]
- Brilliant! - Impressive!
Outstanding!
- You got the characters right. - Oh my God!
You've correctly identified both these opportunists.
They were fighting and then they came together.
Did you write the script?
Yes! We worked on it from start to finish.
- Amazing. - Very good.
Give us your background.
Your education and how you met.
How did you come up with this?
I was born and raised in Delhi.
My dad is a labourer in construction. He is a worker.
- Where? - In Delhi.
My family never made us feel that we were poor.
But when I was 15 years old in 11th grade,
people would come home asking for money
and leave after hurling abuses. That's when I realised
our family was dealing with financial problems.
Because of that, I decided to do something.
I should at least be able to look after my expenses.
So, I started teaching. I became a tutor.
During that... We grew up watching cartoons.
I was curious to know how animation works.
So, I started learning animation by watching videos on YouTube.
In 2017, I met Anmol
while I was his tutor.
During the day, I attended college, followed by teaching,
and later worked at an international BPO in a call centre at night.
Later, it became so stressful
that I quit the place where I was teaching Anmol.
I did that so that I could focus on my health.
Anmol will tell you what happens next.
After he stopped teaching,
I quit the tuition too
because I had a personal bond with him.
We used to study, and along with that discuss business.
We used to discuss animation.
I told my dad that I wanted Rohit to teach me.
So, my dad called him
and asked him if he could come home to teach me.
In 2019, he said he can teach me.
When he started teaching me from home,
mid-2019, my dad lost his job.
My dad shared our financial condition with him.
He told him he can't pay his fees.
He still didn't back off from teaching me.
He taught me for the entire year.
In February, I told him that the computer I have at home
is not the right computer to learn animations on.
I also wanted to learn animations.
What he did was he bought a laptop for me
from his friend's credit card on EMI.
He gave it to me to learn animations.
From your friend's credit card?
Yes! I didn't have a credit card back then.
And then when my school was over in March...
Everyone is aware that there was a lockdown in 2020.
I was 17 years old when I created a profile on Upwork.
He and I finished making that video by 29th May.
It was a project of 100 dollars. And he gave us 20 dollars as a tip.
To be specific, he gave us 21 dollars as a tip.
When he gave us that tip,
- I was over the moon for creating a crazy video. - Wow.
That's why he gave me a tip.
We were quite excited.
But the next day, my Upwork account was suspended.
They sent me a mail saying I was underage.
So, instead of my account,
I started using his account because he was above 18.
That's how our animation journey started.
That's amazing.
[claps]
What happened next?
First, I got 100 dollars. Then, 120 dollars.
And my third or fourth project was for 800 dollars.
We were overbooked.
And we started receiving the projects
that were out of our skill set.
Then, we decided to work on the business instead of in the business.
If kept working in the business
and making animations for them all by ourselves,
we wouldn't be able to scale up and remain freelancers.
So, we started building a team in a couple of months.
And hired animation artists.
And did that team work as freelancers for you?
Yes. They worked as freelancers for us at that time.
But then, down the line, we hired them permanently.
- Yes, sir. - Is it a partnership, sole proprietorship
or a free agency?
No, sir. Currently, it is a sole proprietorship.
But we are planning to covert to private limited.
With this current service business,
how much do you earn per annum?
Our revenue for the previous year was Rs 1.6 Cr.
And how much have you earned in the first half of this year?
Approximately Rs 27 lakhs.
And do you have a good profit margin?
- Yes. - Yes, sir. Our net margin
We withdraw a salary of Rs 50,000 each.
And the margin I told you is after deducting our salaries.
And we invest the remaining money in R&D.
So that we can deliver better quality animations.
I don't think you have many animators globally.
- We have five permanent employees. - Okay.
And additionally, if we have extra projects,
we add freelance artists to our core team
to meet the project demand.
Where are these five based at?
Two are from Brazil, two are from India, and one is from Indonesia.
How do you make the work easy?
Or do you use the normal creator tools?
We use the free source Blender right now.
We use different software as per the project's requirement.
We have a process.
First, we sent such kinds of sketches to our clients.
And then, we send them a video storyboard.
Got it.
Your run rate was Rs 1 crore profit per annum, right?
Including salary and all.
So, what do your parents think? Are there discussions in the house?
How did this happen?
You must be celebrities at home.
When I passed 12th grade in 2016,
my family was struggling with financial problems.
My brother had enrolled himself in a B.Tech course.
So, I decided to focus on earning.
My brother had also cleared the IAS examination.
- Oh, wow! - Very good.
It was not as difficult as it sounds.
But it is something...
- Determination - Yes, we followed the situation.
We just looked forward.
Where does your brother work now?
He cracked UPSC IES engineering service in 2023.
- So, he will be trained now. - Okay.
- Did you buy a bike or a car? - Oh, wow!
I bought a scooter.
- Did you? - And we took our parents to Goa a few months ago.
Well done, man.
In the beginning, you said you had a vision
about having your own content and IPO.
If you look at Indian animation,
- it has no impact globally. - That's right.
But people go to the theatres to watch Pixar-Disney movies.
So, our vision is to create
an original content IP.
Just like Marvel and Disney, if we look for something similar
in the Indian culture and show proper creativity,
we can also make such animated movies.
We want Indian Animation to have a global impact.
So, we will have to compete with Disney and Japanese level quality.
So, this is our target for two years.
We will work with the clients,
product producers,
and huge projects to gain experience.
And we will constantly do R&D
to improvise the animation quality.
We have achieved the Pixar quality.
- Could you please show us? - Show us.
'Hey, friend! This is me. Morissa.'
[whistling]
'And that's my family.'
'We love going on outdoor adventures together.'
'We laugh. We play.'
- 'And we are always here for each other.' - Got it.
[gentle music]
- Very nice. - Beautiful.
'Any other way.'
So, you get all the business from Upwork.
We got 70% from Upwork last year.
And we have also received 70% business from there this year, too.
And 30% of our business is offline.
We reach out to leads.
- I have 56K followers on Instagram. - Oh, wow!
We get clients from there. And some from LinkedIn.
What was your track record in the past couple of months?
Our business suffered a setback in August.
- Rohit's Upwork profile was suspended permanently. - Why?
- You can work individually. - Yes.
We both would go to the meetings. The client would write our names.
So, a lot of reviews had accumulated there
with the names Rohit and Anmol.
That's why we lost our well-established profile.
- So, what was your revenue in September? - Rs 8 lakhs.
Yes. So...
How is it now?
It is good now. But the thing is...
Earlier, we used to earn Rs 20 lakhs a month.
We have started reaching out to the clients.
In the past couple of months, we have sent more than 10,000 emails.
...has signed a deal with us. He is a foreign YouTuber.
He is giving us work worth 4000 dollars per month.
Only two businesses have been converted so far.
We are in talks with 15-20 more businesses.
What is the size of those two businesses?
One of them is the YouTuber, and the other is New York production house.
- How much is that paying you? - A project of 5000 dollars for now.
But down the line, they want to make a series of 11 minutes each.
Got it.
Rohit and Anmol, I respect your journey.
But your business is not investable at this point.
For that reason, I am out.
But you have done a really great job.
- Thank you. - You've reached a good point.
If we want to invest in a business,
that business should have an ability to compound.
And there are a few things which can help you achieve that.
Your process should be strong.
Like, every new project
should be significantly cheaper than the previous one.
Or you should have an original software technology.
Or you should have an IP.
But your business has none of the three right now.
For that reason, I am out.
And I am not sugarcoating.
I am inspired by your story.
And I am sure India will be inspired, too.
Unfortunately, I am also out because of a couple of reasons.
I think this industry will always have hiring issues.
You will also have to upscale.
Because this industry gets old very fast.
If you don't upscale your work,
what you are doing will become redundant after two years.
And I think AI is also an issue.
Many industries will survive.
But this is the first industry which will be disrupted.
Brace yourselves for something else coming up.
And unfortunately, I am out.
Thank you.
I think what you should do.
You are young. Your age is 21 and 24.
For the next 4-5 years,
you should do animation work for others.
Wait for the Indian market to mature to create an IP.
This is not the right time.
If you get into that right now, you will lose a lot of money.
And embrace AI.
- What you make embracing AI... - Exactly.
Human+AI is far more powerful than just AI.
- I am out. Good luck, guys. Truly inspiring. - Thank you, sir.
The animation you showed us today,
it was hilarious, by the way.
How much does it cost to your client?
This animation costs around Rs 1 lakh.
That's it. So, you sell this to the client for Rs 2 lakh.
- Okay. - Right. But if you convert to a private limited firm,
then I will give you Rs 50 lakhs.
We will take 10% equity in that business.
And the services of Rs 50 lakh
will be given to you by my company.
At a preferred or fair market value.
You will supply us the services that we ask for.
That's my offer to you.
Make a decision quickly.
[indistinct dialogues]
Right.
Let's take it.
- Yes, Peyush. We take it. - We accept it.
I am glad he appreciated our hard work.
It's a great opportunity for us to make videos for Lenskart.
And we will also get Peyush's connections. So, we will grow.
Cool structure.
- Cool structure. - Yeah.
I have done this for three years
in my start-up journey. Amit Chaudhary and I
used to look up for work on Freelancer.in.
And especially, their background...
They come from a middle-class background.
But I found them genuine.
- Very genuine. - And their chemistry was also unique.
- Yes. - Very transparent.
- Hello, Anmol and Rohit. How are you? - Great.
Welcome to the PokerBaazi zone, where you hold the cards.
- You did the serious talks there. Let's keep it light here. - Yes.
Poker and business are quite similar.
Tables can turn in both at any time.
Okay.
Then, it's turn.
During the introduction phase, we had to make a lot of decisions.
So, I decided to work on the business not in the business.
And I learned a lot from that.
And down the line, that decision
helped us grow a lot.
I see. That's great.
I just saw the cards placed in front of us.
If this was our hand,
Go and download the PokerBaazi App now!
'Shark Tank India Co-presented by Acko Insurance,'
'PokerBaazi and Swiggy Instamart.'
'Co-powered by Adani and Jaquar Bathroom lights.'
'Special partners, Rayzon Solar, ICICI direct,'
'Lenskart and Sofy.'
[motivational music playing]
Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, and Elon Musk are the greats.
But Sharks, do you know what else is common in them?
These symptoms begin to show at the age of two.
And every kid between 2 to 8 years
should be screened.
The sooner you identify the symptoms,
the sooner you get help to change your life for the better.
And in India, 2.5 crore babies are born every year.
Out of which, 1.5% kids have autism.
...because autism screening doesn't take place on mass level.
And to solve this problem, we came up with Ai.gnosis.
Ai.gnosis is an AI-based ecosystem
Welcome to Shark Tank India, Season 4.
Nice name. Creative.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- But this word came up from diagnosis, right? - Yes.
But a person with an illness is diagnosed, right?
Have we stigmatised autism?
Because now it is said, autism is the new superpower.
Anupam, it's a good point.
We are here to destigmatise autism.
An autistic child is also smart.
If he develops interest in a particular skill,
he can be much better at it
than the rest of us.
Autism causes developmental delay.
For example, the neuroplasticity of a child's brain
starts becoming loose from age 2 to 5.
So, if it is detected early,
the worse symptoms of the autistic children
can be controlled.
But as you said, many kids are gifted.
And that gift can still help them reach their potential.
We have seen mothers of seven years old coming to us and saying
'No, no. He is a bit shy.'
Even when the kid hasn't started speaking at all.
We want the early red flags
which hamper the kids' social communication skills
to be detected soon.
I fully agree with your cause. I have had the experience.
Mild autism and severe autism. I have seen them both.
The mild one is a socially awkward child.
You can intervene and make him normal.
But I have seen a situation
where what you just said has exactly happened.
They kept postponing the detection saying the kid was fine.
- How could anything happen to our kid? - Yeah.
They said he was normal and intelligent.
Parents take a huge time to accept
that there could be a problem.
By the time, when the kid turns 10-12 years old,
there is deep aggression, awkward behaviour,
throwing things... Controlling them after that is difficult.
So, early detection and therapy can help, I believe.
- Definitely. - Yes.
Divyansh and Raksheet, how old are you?
- I am 22 years old. - And I am 26 years old.
How did you meet? And why did you start this?
Both our parents are doctors.
Our fathers are paediatricians and they studied together.
- Wow! - Nice!
My mother is a general surgeon,
- and his mother is a gynaecologist. - Yes.
- I did my schooling from Bhavan's Vidyashram, Jaipur. - Okay.
Then, I did my college from Virginia Tech and NMIMS.
I moved to Jaipur when I was 8 years old.
While I lived in the village, I was connected to the nature.
And I developed interest in science.
Then, I did my bachelors and masters from BITS Pilani.
So, I went to Europe.
I was doing research on applying AI to quantum theory.
You seem well-educated.
You are a rocket scientist!
- AI and quantum theory! Wow! - Amazing.
Then I realised that my research output
was very valuable.
But it had 1x impact.
I wanted it to have 100 or 1000x impact.
So, when I returned to India,
I spoke to Raksheet and realised healthcare was the best option.
Divyansh's father also owns child developmental centres.
And we saw there
that if someone wants to get their kid examined
to detect autism,
- they have to wait for 6 months. - Crazy.
And this is not just our observation.
This is Dr S Sitaraman's observation.
He is our mentor and vice-chancellor at Indian College of Pediatrics.
He is like an authority in India.
And we asked him if the waiting period was genuinely 6 months,
and he was like... 'Look at my calendar.'
Then, he said we were from AI background.
Duke Sanford was doing some research,
and he personally had insights on how we could do this.
Where we can impact India, why not the world?
And then we finally came to what Ai.gnosis is today
and we have a product ready.
Let's go to the product demo.
- Yes, please. - Let's see it.
- We'd like to call my sister-in-law and niece Jinaya, - Oh, wow.
who is a three-year-old.
She'll sit on her mother's lap
- and the five-minute video that she's meant to see - How sweet.
we've made into a one-minute video for the demo.
- Okay. - We will explain her report
- from the test that we had done earlier. - Wonderful.
- Can I please bring Jinaya? - Superb. Please bring her.
Yes.
- Hi. - Hi, Jinaya. - Hello.
Such a cutie.
In our test, we give a pair of sunglasses for the mother,
- because even the mother's eyes can get tracked. - Ah!
Our model is such that it identifies facial emotions.
But with sunglasses, it won't do that.
Very interesting.
Jinaya will watch a demo video now.
[buzz sounds]
[laughing]
[baby laughing]
[baby crying]
'What is this? This is a ball.'
Jinaya.
[music playing]
Okay, Sharks. We will send Jinaya and her mother back.
And we will explain what you saw just now.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Jinaya. - Thank you, Jinaya.
Bye.
- Bye. - Thank you. - Say, bye.
- Bye. - Bye.
- Such a good girl.
You can see on the right side,
a parent is blowing bubbles and interacting with his child.
On the left side, some geometric patterns are playing.
When we map a child's attention naturally,
a child between the ages two and eight watches
social cues. They like to see faces.
- But an autistic child prefers to watch patterns. - That's right.
- Oh. - Now, this is facial emotions recognition, Sharks.
'What is this? This is a ball.'
Both Jinaya and I will first look at the mother's face and then the ball.
But when the video played and we did our studies,
we saw that kids were looking at the picture of the train on the top.
- Oh. - Because they don't want to interact with that area of interest.
- I was also looking there. - This is very interesting.
'This is called, Please call your child's name.'
If you call out to an autistic child five times,
they will respond once.
And then we create a report.
Jinaya's results indicated that
she's a child with normal behaviour
suggesting there is no area of concern.
I can do this at home.
- You cannot do this at home, on today's date. - Why?
And this is just one feature. We have 17 features, for example,
head movement, body movement, repetitive movement,
- area of expertise... - These 17 features
are surface-level features which we are creating in the report.
Actually, there are around 88 features
which we make in layers.
But this report that you've made,
the one who reads it also will be a doctor.
- Yes. Parents also get it. - Then...
Then they'll have to wait for another six months.
This is where we come in.
Please explain the model to us.
It's a B2B model.
We have an MoU with over 250 centres,
which have diagnostic centres and paediatric clinics.
So, you are pre-launch and pre-revenue.
- Yes. - Okay. Good.
We charge Rs 700.
In that 20% goes as partnership fees to the centre.
Rs 60 goes as server cost.
- Which is around... - Rs 140 is the partnership fee.
We have around seven to eight per cent marketing cost.
- Let's say approximately Rs 50. - Yes.
- Okay, what else? - We are left with about Rs 400 per test.
Because you took around Rs 50 for your salaries.
LTV of one autistic child
is somewhere close to three to five lakhs.
They have to spend around one lakh rupees only for therapy each year.
...and provide them with therapy
then we are closing a much higher revenue
which is somewhere close to three crores.
- Understood. - Why are you doing it? Your job is mostly to diagnose it.
The problem won't end if we just detect it early.
The point that you made, Aman,
they'll have to wait again for six months for therapy.
That problem is still there.
I think solving autism
- is an ecosystem problem. - Exactly.
It is not a one-company problem.
- Yes. - Agreed. - Okay?
But getting into the business
of actually providing the therapy
operationally, where you'll hire a therapist.
You'll train them first, etc.
That will become another business altogether.
You said
that you will share Rs 140 with the doctor.
And you will keep Rs 400.
It can work only with your friends. Other than that,
I can guarantee you, no doctor will allow it.
If the doctor takes commission more than Rs 700 also...
But in the beginning, you said that you were providing this for Rs 700.
Whereas this costs around Rs 3,000 or Rs 5,000 in the market.
Rs 5,000 is the cost of the traditional way.
Then the doctor will sell this also for Rs 5,000 itself.
If the doctor sells it for Rs 5,000
then we are back to the same problem of detection.
If you genuinely want to offer this for Rs 700
then why don't you make it live online?
We can, but there is an issue of trust.
We want to establish this tool
in the healthcare provider's name, first.
- That would be your biggest mistake. - You said your
- webcam is special. - I asked you why this is not possible at home.
You said it's a special camera and tracks eye movements.
I don't know about iOS 18.
Eye tracking has been introduced in iOS 18.
It has been introduced everywhere. Even in Android machines.
Yes, it will soon come. You can do this.
You can do this at home.
There is an element called disruption.
And then there's an element called being part of the current process.
As founders what decision will you take, when you have to decide that?
Definitely, we'll decide on disruption.
Because the problem is very big and under-served.
We will choose whatever is best for the customers and the children.
And you're clear about that?
- Yes, we're clear about that. - This is a mission for us.
Coming to the consumer mentality. I agree with what you said.
Until the doctors don't do this, I won't do it.
As you said, if there is traction
in B2B, at first,
then you can open it. But not before that.
- Exactly. - Exactly.
You have such good knowledge and you've worked with AI.
Don't you want to apply your knowledge in other areas?
We've seen the journey of many parents.
And we think it's necessary to disrupt this.
It has been solved in the US.
People will solve it in the UK. Nobody will make it for India.
Is nobody making it in India?
Nobody in India can screen for autism with AI in five minutes.
My second question is, what are you doing on Shark Tank?
We already have commitments
of Rs 45 lakhs investment on Rs 12.5 crores.
We already have grants of Rs 55 lakhs.
The problem is not only money.
We need your expertise to create a brand like this.
The healthcare network you need is not here today.
Okay. You're working for a noble cause.
It can be a game-changer.
....the government should reward you if you succeed.
I will give you what you've asked. Rs 50 lakhs for 4 per cent.
- It's the same offer. - Wow!
Do you want to join me?
- We can do that. - Okay.
Both of us will come together now.
- Rs 50 lakhs for 4 per cent. - Rs 25 lakhs each.
Your aim of starting a clinic and giving therapies
...the right founders for it.
You've got two offers.
I can't add more value. I'm out.
Thank you.
I was excited about the tech.
I think the opportunity here
is a little bigger.
So, given that you're clear about going the therapeutic way,
I am out. Good luck.
Thank you.
I believe you should solve the entire ecosystem.
Be it screening or tech. Whatever it takes!
As long as
you want to bring an impact on autism,
- you should not stop anywhere. - Yes, sir.
There is no line
whether it is offline, online,
- omnichannel, or a doctor, whatever! - Certainly!
I'll make you Rs 50 lakhs for 4 per cent.
I want to partner with you to solve this.
It is very close to my heart.
For this cause, I can say
I don't have a problem with having more partners.
In the end, you only have one offer.
Three sharks together, Rs 50 lakhs for 4 per cent.
We will accept your deal.
- You have a deal. - Which one?
We don't want to sell our tests.
Plus, we know how Aman has revolutionised brand creation.
Varun's insurance background
might help us sell
autism insurance to parents before they have a baby.
It's going to be a great collaboration.
- Hello, Raksheet and Divyansh. - Hi.
- How are you? - Great!
How was your experience inside?
- We had fun. - Too good!
- Was it fun? - Yes.
Did you want a deal from them?
- We went with some strategies, and it went well. - More than that!
We got a better deal than that.
I saw all your work is tech-related.
I thought of ordering some gifts for you.
I ordered it from Swiggy Instamart, and they arrived in ten minutes.
- Thank you so much. It is for you. - Thank you.
I've ordered tech-supportive things.
I ordered a mouse, keyboard,
tablet stand and phone stand for you.
Since you're ordering, please order one charging station.
And give us an extension cable, as well.
Your demands are rising, but I'll order it.
We will support your noble cause.
We'll order it from Swiggy Instamart. Just ten minutes!
Friends, you can also order things if you want to.
You can get everything. Order now.
Welcome to Ask the Shark.
Please welcome Lenskart's CEO and co-founder, Mr Peyush Bansal.
Hi, Ashish. How are you?
I'm great, sir. How about you?
Good. What do you think about Shark Tank?
I've loved it so far.
Only one?
Today's question is from 45-year-old Rahul from Bhopal.
It will increase
the quality and output of your work.
I'll give you an example. Suppose you're a designer.
You might feel that AI designs everything.
Type the command, and the model will be there.
You can overlay eyeglasses, too.
But if you develop your skills
Very well answered, sir. Thank you so much.
See you in the next Ask the Shark
with a new question and a new Shark.