Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Aug 4: Former Swiggy executive Anuj Rathi and former Zomato technology leader Prashant Parashar have launched Profound, an artificial intelligence startup focused on building AI-powered digital representatives for professionals. The company has raised $1.5 million in seed funding and has opened early access to its first cohort of users after spending several months on product development and customer research.
Profound is developing what it describes as an AI representative that can understand a professional's work, knowledge, communication style and expertise, enabling it to handle routine interactions, answer questions, and represent users across digital platforms while allowing them to retain control over important decisions. The founders believe such AI representatives will become an integral part of professional life as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply embedded in workplaces.
The startup was co-founded by Anuj Rathi, who previously led revenue and growth initiatives at Swiggy and later served as Chief Product and Marketing Officer at fintech firm Jupiter. An IIT Kanpur graduate, Rathi has also held leadership roles at Flipkart, Snapdeal and Walmart, where he worked on product management, growth and omnichannel commerce.
Co-founder Prashant Parashar brings extensive engineering and technology leadership experience, including senior roles at Zomato, where he helped build and scale technology platforms serving millions of users. Together, the founders have more than two decades of experience in building consumer internet products, growth systems and large-scale technology infrastructure.
The company said it spent months interacting with professionals from different sectors to understand repetitive digital tasks that can be automated through AI without compromising trust or quality. Based on these insights, Profound has built its first product, which is now being tested with an initial group of early users.
The newly raised capital will be used to expand the engineering team, accelerate product development and enhance the platform's AI capabilities. The startup also plans to onboard more professionals through a phased early-access programme before a wider public rollout.
According to the founders, the long-term vision is to provide every professional with an AI-powered representative capable of managing day-to-day digital interactions, allowing users to focus on higher-value work while maintaining oversight and control of their professional identity.