AI & Software
October 30, 2025

India’s Role in an AI-First World?

The US innovates. China industrializes. Can India deploy at scale and claim its right to win in AI?

India’s edge has always been its people: engineers, data, and scale. But as LLMs automate language and logic, can that advantage still hold?

In this episode of #ZeroToInfinity, Chandrashekhar Venugopal speaks with Avnish Bajaj and Vikram Vaidyanathan about India’s crossroads in the AI race and what will define the country’s next decade.

The trio unpacks:
The rise of Forward-Deployed Engineers (FDEs): India’s secret weapon in AI deployment
How data, assurance, and governance could become India’s strongest moat
Why AI might finally flip India from back office to frontline
How voice and vernacular interfaces could erase the digital divide
And what government, investors, and founders must do to spark India’s inference leap

With Aadhaar, UPI, and consent layers powering population-scale systems, India has the infrastructure and now the opportunity to lead the world by deploying intelligence at scale.

For more information, write to us: namaste@Z47.com.
Stay connected with Z47.

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AI & Software
October 30, 2025

India’s Role in an AI-First World?

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The US innovates. China industrializes. Can India deploy at scale and claim its right to win in AI?

India’s edge has always been its people: engineers, data, and scale. But as LLMs automate language and logic, can that advantage still hold?

In this episode of #ZeroToInfinity, Chandrashekhar Venugopal speaks with Avnish Bajaj and Vikram Vaidyanathan about India’s crossroads in the AI race and what will define the country’s next decade.

The trio unpacks:
The rise of Forward-Deployed Engineers (FDEs): India’s secret weapon in AI deployment
How data, assurance, and governance could become India’s strongest moat
Why AI might finally flip India from back office to frontline
How voice and vernacular interfaces could erase the digital divide
And what government, investors, and founders must do to spark India’s inference leap

With Aadhaar, UPI, and consent layers powering population-scale systems, India has the infrastructure and now the opportunity to lead the world by deploying intelligence at scale.

We are excited about the innovation and growth opportunities in this sector.

If you are considering building in the footwear space, we’d love to chat.
Drop us a line at consumer@matrixpartners.in

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Vs NIFTY 500
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Since Jan 2024
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Daily change • 1 Ju1 2025
128.1
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Since Jan 2024
NIFTY 500
129.1
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Since Jan 2024

Index Performance

+28.1%
Since Jan 2024
NIFTY 500
+19.0%
Since Jan 2024

Z47^fortyseven is up +23.9% since its January 2024 base date, versus Nifty 500's +18.4%, ahead by 550 bps.

The cohort moved +4.7% over the month versus Nifty 500's +2.5%, leading by 220 bps.

Anchored in domestic demand and rising digital adoption, the cohort remained resilient amid global headwinds.

Consumer Tech was the best-performing sector at +9.2% last month, driven by sustained growth in consumer demand and strength in consumer-internet platforms.

Largest Constituents  ·  The Names That Anchor The Index

1.
Eternal
Quick-commerce leadership and continued investment
▲ +12.8%
2.
Groww
Broking market-share gains and margin-funding growth.
▲ +10.4%
3.
Lenskart
Store densification and margin expansion.
▲ +2.4%

Top Gainers  ·  Key Drivers

1 MONTH RETURN
1.
CarTrade
Auto-marketplace dominance and a cash-rich balance sheet.
▲ +59.4%
2.
 Amagi Media Labs
Profitability turnaround and AI-led cloud media adoption.
▲ +31.4%

Top Laggards  ·  Key Drivers

1 MONTH RETURN
1.
Fractal Analytics
Enterprise AI spending trends and post-listing share supply.
▼ -10.8%
2.
MedPlus Health
Pharmacy-margin pressure and competitive intensity.
▼ -6.6%

Key Themes  ·  Latest Results

In Q4FY26, Z47^fortyseven's cohort grew top line ~39% YoY, more than 3x the broad market's ~12% growth.

Operating leverage lifted net margins around 500 bps into positive territory, even as broad-market net margins remained roughly flat.

With 40 of 47 companies now profitable, the cohort reflects a broader shift toward profitable growth over growth at any cost.

AI adoption runs deeper across this cohort than in the broader market, with companies using it to drive growth and reshape demand, not just improve efficiency.

Cash generation is increasingly defining the winners, enabling market leaders like Eternal, CarTrade, and PB Fintech to fund acquisitions and expansion from their own balance sheets.

Market & Macro Context

The cohort saw several block deals this month, including sizeable stake sales in Lenskart, Delhivery, Honasa, and Shadowfax.

Ownership continues to shift from foreign investors to domestic institutions, creating a more durable shareholder base.

AI remained the defining technology investment theme, driving capital deployment across both private and public markets.

IPO Takeaway · Kissht

Listed May 2026

A modest listing pop followed by strong post-listing gains reinforced the market's preference for asset quality and disciplined underwriting over pure loan-book growth.

The listing helped reset perceptions around unsecured lending, creating a constructive valuation anchor for the issuers that follow.

The buyer mix was a notable positive — strong participation from long-only domestic institutions supporting a durable post-listing ownership base.

Net Read

Fundamentals continued to strengthen across the cohort, with growth, margins, and cash generation improving in tandem.

Performance dispersion widened, with profitability and earnings quality increasingly distinguishing the strongest performers from the rest.

Disclaimer

Z47^fortyseven is published for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, or any offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Index performance is historical and should not be construed as indicative of future results.

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