Founded & exited @Robosoft, @GlobalDelight; Founded @99Games,@itswrkwrk. Dad, movie/travel/GSB food buff. posts on Startups and https://nitter.gq/t.co/RjaSpX6hdI
Udupi, India
Joined June 2009
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🧵Yesterday’s announcement of a 1 GW #DataCentre in Vizag was widely reported in the press. The announcement in itself was stunning for the sheer scale (largest single FDI till date as reported in some media) and was of particular interest to us in #SiliconBeachofIndia as we are working to position this region as a Data Centre hub.
#Udupi Cochin Shipyard Ltd. launches first of eight 6,300 DWT dry cargo vessels built for European firm - The Hindu share.google/lAaa2NgpmDKinQK…
Rohith Bhat retweeted
“So what do you do after work?”
“Nothing much?” 🐎
That’s the answer we’d like to change. 5 to 9 is our new series on what Mangaluru does between 5 and 9, so the next time someone asks, you’ve got a fun and interesting answer.
Here, the day doesn’t end when work does. The sea is never far, there’s a community for almost everything, and your evenings are still yours. Some of us think that’s a pretty good deal.
Episode 1, Beyond the Ride, takes you inside Mangaluru Horse Riding Academy. This is the Mangaluru evening nobody told you about.
So tell us, what’s your 5 to 9? And if you’ve been thinking about moving back, we’d love to have you.
@rohithbhat @TVMohandasPai @CaptBrijesh
@karnatakadem @TiEMangaluru @ITBTGoK
#5to9 #BeyondTheRide #Mangaluru #HomeComing #CoastalKarnataka #SiliconBeachProgram
Rohith Bhat retweeted
The entire Indian system is geared towards *prevention*.
*Prevent* all the bad things from happening, because recourse to cure is so poor. Why is there no cure? Courts and police are total failures - for instance, if somebody commits a financial fraud, it can take decades to prosecute them. Hence prevent the fraud - throw multiple OTPs at the user for a Rs 5000 fund transfer. Banks make you do KYC like fanatics because they are trying to *prevent* the last bad actor from getting away - if millions are to be tortured for it, so be it.
This prevention-first mindset throws sand in the wheels for everything. It makes life hell for consumers and small businesses.
Just imagine what the accumulated cost is of preventing all the bad things from happening - surely it shaves off many basis points from GDP growth when you stack up all of it.
And yet the cheats, criminals, troublemakers and frauds all find ways to do what they do anyway. Those who are just trying to run their business and get through life are burdened with this mountain of compliance and paperwork. None of this moves babus and ministers - they live in a parallel reality where somebody else works (at taxpayer expense of course) to remove these frictions from their existence.
Then they blithely bark at poor consumers and business operators: “ek form hi to hai, bhar do”. But of course it is never one form - every leech in the system demands a form and a submission. Stacked up, it goes into hundreds of pages of documents and dozens of tasks.
The associated parasite lobby of lawyers, consultants, company secretaries and chartered accountants makes merry. They lobby the government for more regulations and offer compliance services to hapless people. In exchange, they place the government elite’s nepo kids in jobs.
This parasite gang has a field day because more documents means more business for them. They are joined by economists and intellectuals, who want to join the leeching and bloodsucking bacchanalia. This intellectual cabal wants to snag a coveted role in the “world’s best” prize winner central bank or other sarkaari gig.
Productivity dies in India, businesses slow down and overall it is a slow-motion economic disaster. In isolation we feel happy to have 6-7% economic growth. Decades go on then somebody says - oh, how did Singapore, Vietnam and China do so well? We look at the delta and feel awkward. We justify it saying “we have democracy”. The super-cabal didn’t just prevent accidents or disasters like they claimed - they killed off and prevented growth and progress with it. Mega accidents and disasters happened anyway.
Enjoy the democracy. Praise the cockroaches and jholachhaps. Celebrate the thugs, parasites, leeches and bureaucrat-goons all around you.
Mera Bharat Mahaan!
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Without Sachin Bansal and Mukesh Bansal, who made their wealth in the much reviled *consumer* that Indian VCs backed, Ather and Skyroot would have had a much harder road.
Ather is actually a very interesting story, and I think this tweet misses a big part of it.
Look at who funded Ather.
Sachin Bansal invested ~$53M, starting as an angel and then leading its Series C and Series D. Imagine an Indian founder personally putting that much money behind a hardware startup leading growth rounds.
Then there's Hero MotoCorp. A traditional Indian two-wheeler company backed a startup that could eventually compete with its own business. Hero started investing in 2016 and kept doubling down. Today, its stake is worth billions of dollars.
Between Sachin and Hero, nearly 50% (~$250Mn) of Ather's capital came from two backers you would hardly expect to make such investment. Think about how unusual that is. Neither was a traditional VC fund, yet both played a huge role in getting Ather to where it is today.
And it's not just Ather. Mukesh Bansal invested ~$1.5M in Skyroot Aerospace very early. That bet is now reportedly worth ~$80M, including partial exits. Nearly 60x.
I think we should spend more time celebrating people who are actually making these contrarian investments rather than criticizing those who aren't. The former encourages more people to take risks. The latter doesn't really help anyone.
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Ather is actually a very interesting story, and I think this tweet misses a big part of it.
Look at who funded Ather.
Sachin Bansal invested ~$53M, starting as an angel and then leading its Series C and Series D. Imagine an Indian founder personally putting that much money behind a hardware startup leading growth rounds.
Then there's Hero MotoCorp. A traditional Indian two-wheeler company backed a startup that could eventually compete with its own business. Hero started investing in 2016 and kept doubling down. Today, its stake is worth billions of dollars.
Between Sachin and Hero, nearly 50% (~$250Mn) of Ather's capital came from two backers you would hardly expect to make such investment. Think about how unusual that is. Neither was a traditional VC fund, yet both played a huge role in getting Ather to where it is today.
And it's not just Ather. Mukesh Bansal invested ~$1.5M in Skyroot Aerospace very early. That bet is now reportedly worth ~$80M, including partial exits. Nearly 60x.
I think we should spend more time celebrating people who are actually making these contrarian investments rather than criticizing those who aren't. The former encourages more people to take risks. The latter doesn't really help anyone.
Why are Indian VCs so afraid to take risk and make money?
Someone should go to India and take risk and make money.
Our story - corememory.com/p/a-new-india…
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Ras Al Khaimah is now on Mangaluru’s departure board.
The inaugural Air India Express flight from the UAE touched down at #MangaluruAirport, opening up a new international sector for the city.
With this addition, IXE now serves 9 international and 6 domestic destinations.
@AirIndiaX
#IXE #AirIndiaExpress #RasAlKhaimah
Somebody needs to do this for #Mangaluru too
Bengaluru Jatre invites designers, architects, artists and students to submit practical ideas to redesign everyday urban spaces, including bus stops, streetlights, benches, waste bins, signage, shopfronts & 500-metre road stretches.
Bengaluru Development Minister @krishnabgowda said initiative aims to make public spaces more accessible, inclusive and liveable.
Submissions close on November 15, 2026. Shortlisted designs will be showcased at Bengaluru Jatre from December 4-13, with a GBA jury selecting best proposals for discussion & possible implementation. Entries can be sent to [email protected]
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Pretty much.
As of the past few weeks, debt markets have almost entirely shut off access to money for any company that doesn’t have substantial revenue independent of AI data centers.
SpaceX closed $40B of debt for GPUs, but we’re investment grade and have Starlink & launch revenue.
That means the 200+ neoclouds are going to see guppy-level death and consolidation. Some will make it through, but not many.
Rohith Bhat retweeted
I think we should just stop taking western credit rating agencies seriously.
France credit rating Aa3.
India credit rating Baa3.
Moody’s puts France six notches above India.
Now look at the numbers:
•Debt/GDP: France ~116%. India ~85%.
•Nominal GDP growth: France ~2%. India ~8.9%.
France govt spending as % of GDP
60%
India govt spending as % of GDP
30%
India has less debt relative to its economy—and a much faster-growing nominal GDP base.
Yet it sits just one downgrade above junk.
The counterargument? France collects much more tax.
Fair. But today’s tax collection is not the same as tomorrow’s fiscal headroom.
France already collects 43.5% of GDP in taxes and compulsory social-security contributions. Exclude those contributions, and it is roughly 29%, versus approximately 18% in combined central and state taxes in India.
France has limited room to squeeze more from an already heavily taxed economy. India has greater scope to broaden its tax base as its economy formalises.That potential is not guaranteed. But it should not be ignored.
Institutions, income levels and borrowing costs matter. Nobody is arguing that credit ratings should depend on three numbers alone.
But six notches?
When a richer country’s weaknesses are treated as manageable, while a faster-growing country’s strengths are treated as insufficient, the methodology deserves scrutiny.
Is Moody’s measuring future repayment capacity—or giving too much credit to the past or it has just become irrelevant as a credit rating agency.
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Notice how China doesn't get all angry about this publicly. America has denied it access to chinese cars, tiktok, 5g and now AI.
China reacts by not allowing google, twitter or Facebook.
There's a lesson for India here. Don't get all outraged, build capability.
DHS Orders DeepSeek Technology Removed From Federal Civilian IT Systems on.wsj.com/3VYlP8O
How #Mangaluru Plans to Turn Blue Economy, AI Talent Into a #Tech Growth Engine #SiliconBeach analyticsindiamag.com/ai-fea…
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Glimpses from Silicon to Solution, held during Technovanza Mangaluru 2026! ⚙️
An initiative by TiE Mangaluru’s Hardware SIG, connecting innovators and industry leaders to advance semiconductor design, embedded systems, and hardware product development.
Building the Silicon Beach of India into a hub for hardware innovation. 🚀
#TiEMangaluru #SiliconToSolution #Technovanza2026
Rohith Bhat retweeted
A devoted son from Bihar is redefining faith in Kalyug Pure devotion
When his mother fell ill he promised Lord Shiva he’d run to all 12 Jyotirlingas if she recovered.
Now that she is completely well he is running across India to fulfill his vow
Rohith Bhat retweeted
Every Tom, Dick and Harry talks about “rights” these days.
But nobody talks about the right of poor and middle class people to conduct business and earn their living.
Why should their shop be shut? Why should the road to their business be blocked? Why should the market they operate in suffer business losses because of other people?
What about their “rights”?
Not everyone in the country is a freeloader like those who are at protests every other day.
People have actual jobs to go to, and earn their living.
It’s about time the courts stand up for their “rights” as well.
Rohith Bhat retweeted
🌴📚 Udupi makes history! 🇮🇳
Karnataka’s first district declared fully literate, with a 99.5% literacy rate and 5,885 people certified as literate.
🌴 From educated minds and legendary cuisine to rich traditions, sacred temples, honest hearts and breathtaking nature — Udupi has it all!
🙏 Come, discover Udupi. Experience the pride, culture and soul of Coastal Karnataka ! – at Udupi, India
