Venture capital firms are increasingly advising Indian AI startups targeting global markets to establish an early presence in the US, especially in San Francisco, as proximity to customers, capital, talent and emerging AI trends becomes critical to scaling, reported TOI.
What was earlier considered a later-stage expansion step during the SaaS boom is now turning into a core strategy for AI startups, with investors stressing the importance of founders being physically present in the US market much sooner.
“Earlier, SaaS founders would build from India and only start spending time in the US much later. Now, that shift is happening much earlier,” said Sumangal Vinjamuri, vice-president at Blume Ventures. He said founders building for North America increasingly need to be based there full-time much earlier in their journey.
VC firms are also reshaping their support systems around this trend. Blume, for instance, is helping startups with US go-to-market strategy, hiring, fundraising and customer introductions.
Investors believe that being in Silicon Valley is no longer only about accessing sales opportunities, but also about understanding product-market fit and monetisation more quickly. “US customers are much less budget sensitive and much more open to buy over-build. You get a much higher quality signal on monetisation potential,” Krishna Mehra of Elevation Capital told TOI.
Founders who have already moved say the impact is immediate. “My market is entirely in the US, so being here materially changed the quality of customer conversations,” said Padam Kataria, co-founder of AI startup Ayden, who recently moved to San Francisco. “In-person interactions build trust much faster and increase the likelihood of actually closing the loop.” He added that even unsuccessful meetings generate richer insights than remote calls.
Freshworks founder and Together Fund investor Girish Mathrubootham said the AI boom has altered the way startups should think about global growth. “Today, I would advise at least one co-founder to either move to the US or spend significant time in the Valley, to have ears on the ground on how AI is evolving,” he told TOI. “In AI, being close to customers is one part, being close to what’s happening in AI itself is equally critical.”
Aakrit Vaish, founder of Haptik and investor at AI-focused fund Activate, said remote-first models are becoming less viable for startups serving US enterprises. “If you’re building for the US, you either need to be very close to cutting-edge research or deeply embedded with customers — both are hard to do remotely,” he said.
At Antler, partner Nitin Sharma described the trend as an “epicentre effect”, with the Bay Area emerging as the global hub for AI innovation, talent and funding. “For AI, that epicentre is the Bay Area right now,” he said.
Investors added that startups focused on India can still scale effectively from within the country. However, for AI firms pursuing US enterprise clients, physical proximity is increasingly being viewed as a competitive advantage rather than an optional move.
(with TOI inputs)
What was earlier considered a later-stage expansion step during the SaaS boom is now turning into a core strategy for AI startups, with investors stressing the importance of founders being physically present in the US market much sooner.
“Earlier, SaaS founders would build from India and only start spending time in the US much later. Now, that shift is happening much earlier,” said Sumangal Vinjamuri, vice-president at Blume Ventures. He said founders building for North America increasingly need to be based there full-time much earlier in their journey.
VC firms are also reshaping their support systems around this trend. Blume, for instance, is helping startups with US go-to-market strategy, hiring, fundraising and customer introductions.
Investors believe that being in Silicon Valley is no longer only about accessing sales opportunities, but also about understanding product-market fit and monetisation more quickly. “US customers are much less budget sensitive and much more open to buy over-build. You get a much higher quality signal on monetisation potential,” Krishna Mehra of Elevation Capital told TOI.
Founders who have already moved say the impact is immediate. “My market is entirely in the US, so being here materially changed the quality of customer conversations,” said Padam Kataria, co-founder of AI startup Ayden, who recently moved to San Francisco. “In-person interactions build trust much faster and increase the likelihood of actually closing the loop.” He added that even unsuccessful meetings generate richer insights than remote calls.
Freshworks founder and Together Fund investor Girish Mathrubootham said the AI boom has altered the way startups should think about global growth. “Today, I would advise at least one co-founder to either move to the US or spend significant time in the Valley, to have ears on the ground on how AI is evolving,” he told TOI. “In AI, being close to customers is one part, being close to what’s happening in AI itself is equally critical.”
Aakrit Vaish, founder of Haptik and investor at AI-focused fund Activate, said remote-first models are becoming less viable for startups serving US enterprises. “If you’re building for the US, you either need to be very close to cutting-edge research or deeply embedded with customers — both are hard to do remotely,” he said.
At Antler, partner Nitin Sharma described the trend as an “epicentre effect”, with the Bay Area emerging as the global hub for AI innovation, talent and funding. “For AI, that epicentre is the Bay Area right now,” he said.
Investors added that startups focused on India can still scale effectively from within the country. However, for AI firms pursuing US enterprise clients, physical proximity is increasingly being viewed as a competitive advantage rather than an optional move.
(with TOI inputs)
