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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some expat Indians are moving back home to launch companies of their own.</li><li>India's booming market size, internet growth, and post-pandemic spending is driving their decision.</li></ul>Nithin Hassan, 41, has always been fascinated with building something of his own.As a child in India, he would get in trouble for dismantling electronics around the house just so he could peek inside.In college, in true <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startup</a> fashion, he started working on a small business out of his parent's garage in Bengaluru, assembling computers for friends and family.It was the early 2000s and the internet was not the trove of knowledge it is today — Hassan was relying on books to learn. Finding mentorship and the right guidance was a challenge, too.Everyone around Hassan told him that going to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-tips-google-software-engineer-skills-experience-careers-software-tech-2024-3">US for a master's degree</a> was the next big opportunity. So he did.Over the next 16 years, he put his startup plans on hold and worked at some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.<div type="image" title="Nithin Hassan" height="2450" width="3266" msid="113831978" hostid="261" sizebytes="215682"></div>But the pandemic felt like a turning point. And its aftermath made India look like a lab-designed business environment: It had just become the world's most populous country, the pandemic had created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/private-consumption-continues-to-be-supported-by-pent-up-demand-finance-ministry/articleshow/99069973.cms?from=mdr">pent-up demand</a> for consumer products, and growing internet adoption made commerce more scalable, he said.So Hassan left behind about $500,000 in annual pay at Meta to move back to Bengaluru in December 2023 with his wife and two children. He has since launched two startups.Hassan is part of a group of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-moved-back-to-india-after-living-abroad-for-decade-2024-9">expat Indians moving back</a> home to venture out on their own. As such, he's also part of a decades-long trend of reverse migration back to India.The trend began in the 1990s and picked up at the turn of the century, driven by the economic collapse in 2008, said Binod Khadria, the president of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism. Many of those who returned to India for work were largely working for multinational companies.Today, the impetus for the move often looks a bit different: It's driven by factors like unstable visa policies and economic recessions, which lead to uncertainty when it comes to jobs and duration of stay in these destinations.Many returnees find work in tech, but the finance, retail, and climate sectors also absorb a large number of expat Indians, Khadia said. And some of the returnees are heading back to India to start companies of their own.India is undergoing a startup explosion. The country reported over<a target="_blank" href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2043805"> 140,800 recognized startups</a> at the end of June — nearly 50,000 more than last year — and credited them with creating 1.6 million direct jobs.To be sure, not all of these companies will make it big — and some do still stumble, like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inc42.com/features/what-are-the-current-problems-being-faced-by-oyo/">Oyo </a>and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-hsbc-funds-byjus-startup-valuation-zero-edtech-india-raveendran-2024-6">Byju's</a>. But the chaos, where even established startups are trying and failing, makes India a fair playing field for new entrants, Hassan said.Business Insider spoke to six <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-vc-wants-see-5-traits-new-founders-fundraising-antler-2024-8">first-time founders </a>about why they have recently returned to India after spending several years, or even an adult life, abroad.<h2 id="0e4a3c47-ba19-4690-8b52-c6bfece1c81d">Fastest-growing economy</h2>The health of the economy and interest from investors are fueling the entrepreneurship boom.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-billionaire-karan-adani-plans-challenge-china-dominance-seaports-2024-8">India's economic growth</a> in 2023 — 8.2% — was the fastest of all large economies worldwide. That's led to greater purchasing power, which lets companies, including startups, sell more.India's inflation rate of about 3.5% is well below its annual wage growth of 9.6%. This makes inflation less of a challenge than it is for slower-growing peers, where consumer-focused businesses have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economy-jobs-report-sentiment-consumers-elections-recession-inflation-mortgage-rates-2024-9">hurt by high prices</a>.Investors are getting in on the action.From 2015 to 2021, the number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-vc-firm-split-china-india-2023-6">unique investors in India</a> nearly quadrupled, though the number is tracking much lower this year, per PitchBook."Other than a slight downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to global macroeconomic factors, VC funding has been consistently growing in India," said Ben Mathias, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India.Besides funding, domestic developments have encouraged founders and VCs too, Mathias said.The Indian government's Universal Payment Interface system has spurred consumers and businesses to pay online, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/2june2022-digital-payments-in-india-projected-to-reach-10-trillion-by-2026">40% of all digital payments</a> globally happen in India today, the partner said.Programs like Startup India, which provides founders benefits like tax exemption, easier compliance, and funding support, have made creating a company smoother.Devyani Parameshwar worked in the microfinance and fintech space in India in the 2010s before heading to the UK and Africa. She returned to India in 2022 to launch a financial management venture."It's changed dramatically. I remember standing in line at various ministries in Delhi trying to get meetings and then trying to get answers and it wasn't easy in the past," she said of her memories of India.Now, she can use an online platform to ask the country's central bank and banking regulator questions.It's easier than ever for foreign companies to invest in India, which means startups have a clearer exit path through acquisition — something VCs think hard about before entering new markets or writing checks.<h2 id="e5dd7b6f-a09f-4ff2-84c1-5907de96dc5e">Market ripe for the taking</h2>For Rohan Bhide, who spent most of his college and professional life <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-in-big-tech-before-launching-my-own-startup-engineer-2024-9">preparing to launch something of his own</a>, a trip home in 2017 while he was studying in the US was a turning point.Indian telecom giant Reliance had recently launched a cheap unlimited data plan, which spiked Indian internet adoption. India was charting among the countries with the highest online transactions."That really, really drew my attention," said Bhide, who worked at Meta after graduation. "It was my dream come true — a huge market, a huge user base, and at the same time, the ability to adopt technology was incredible."Bhide returned to India in January, leaving behind about $580,000 in total compensation at ticketing platform StubHub. He and a cofounder are working on launching a consumer tech product later this year.<div type="image" title="Rohan Bhide" height="2304" width="3072" msid="113831979" hostid="261" sizebytes="218468"></div>Most Indians grew up wanting to work at a multinational company — but that's changing, Bhide said.Freelancing, running your own business, or working for a startup is much more socially acceptable now, because people see the success of other Indian startups. The country has the third-largest number of "unicorns" — companies worth $1 billion or more — with 64, per PitchBook.<h2 id="7f423804-745b-4e04-a250-839e01663f09">Boom in entrepreneurship culture</h2>A lot has changed since Hassan first wanted to launch his hardware startup in the early 2000s.Tech hot spots like Bengaluru and Gurugram have seen a boom in entrepreneurship culture in the last few years, with meet-ups, networking mixers, and even morning walks with like-minded builders.<div type="image" title="man standing in front of mountains in USA" height="2268" width="3024" msid="113831980" hostid="261" sizebytes="141132"></div>Dhruv Anand, who left Google in the US to move back to India in 2021 to launch an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-most-promising-2024-9">AI startup</a>, said that there were lots of other founders and mentors to help guide him."If you want to figure out who's the right chartered accountant to talk to, who's the right lawyer to help you draft agreements, all of that stuff is very easy," Anand said."It's been a really, really supportive community," Bhide said. There are people "telling you about their entire lives just because they want to help you and they're hoping that you pass the favor onto the next person who moves to India and wants to start their own company."<h2 id="3c8bff36-e855-4530-9b44-bcc7f36b0825">Not everything is perfect</h2>Although these founders made the decision to return to India, that doesn't mean they no longer see the benefits of operating in the US.Ruchit Garg founded an agriculture startup in Silicon Valley in 2016, with a focus on supporting farmers around the globe. In 2019, he returned to India, where his late grandfather worked as a farmer.Garg has been building in India ever since, but he says its startup ecosystem cannot yet compete with the Valley's decades of experience."The overall ecosystem was more mature back in Silicon Valley. It's still one of the best places for entrepreneurs. India isn't there yet, although it's growing pretty drastically," he said.Despite efforts to digitalize key processes, many bureaucratic challenges persist.For most founders, after living in US cities where populations are a fraction of those in Mumbai and Bangalore, congested roads and poorer air quality are also everyday annoyances.But India provides some big perks, including affordable domestic help and the appeal of building solutions for problems they witness firsthand."It's a different joy to be able to build for problems that you feel for very personally," Parameshwar, the fintech founder, said. When she worked in Africa, she needed translators. Now, she can speak with her users herself.Bhide said the general sentiment among local founders is shifting from "Build from India" to "Build for India."For some founders, being surrounded by family and the culture they grew up in was another selling point.Niranjan Vemulkar moved back to India in 2015 and later founded a digital legacy planning platform.He said that he never fully felt at home in the US, where he lived for over a decade."For us, it was the fact that we wanted to raise a family in an environment where the children would have access to the grandparents and Indian culture," Vemulkar said. "The fact that you could come back to India, start something of your own and figure things out in an ecosystem which was potentially booming for startups, was just a cherry on the cake."Are you in India and have a story to share about the tech and entrepreneurship landscape? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has backed at least three spatial intelligence startups this year.</li><li>Spatial intelligence uses AI-powered robots to navigate freely within their environment.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/jeff-bezos">Jeff Bezos</a> is joining a slew of top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures, by backing companies that are building <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-like-khosla-and-a16z-backing-robotics-that-use-ai-2024-7">robots capable of advanced reasoning</a> and processing visual data.Bezos joined ChatGPT creator OpenAI in backing AI robotics startup Physical Intelligence in its $400 million funding round which was announced in early November, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/business/dealbook/physical-intelligence-robot-ai.html">The New York Times reported</a>. The startup <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-invests-ai-robots-startup-physical-intelligence-2024-11">develops large-scale AI models</a> with the goal of bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world.An offshoot of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024">booming AI sector</a>, these so-called "spatial intelligence" startups are developing tech that allows robots to navigate and interact with their environment more freely. These robots could take over dangerous or labor-intensive tasks in industries including logistics, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-bring-ai-robots-to-hospital-2024-10">healthcare,</a> manufacturing, or construction.VCs see AI robotics as a way to automate fields impacted by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024">labor shortages</a> and rising costs, and startups in the space are building robots that can engage in decision-making and adapt on the fly — a big update from past machines.Traditional robotics, for example, would require multiple, individually programmed machines to complete various aspects of a task, and they would have trouble if something went wrong along the way.A spatially intelligent robot, however, could be programmed in plain language rather than in code to complete a task. The machine would then interpret the request, teach itself to complete the task and troubleshoot any issues.Physical Intelligence is at least the third spatial intelligence startup Bezos has backed this year, according to PitchBook. BI has compiled a list of each startup in the space that Bezos and his family office, Bezos Expeditions, have invested in.<h2 id="2c9b38e8-b5fa-4a05-8443-6629bc110757">Physical Intelligence</h2>Physical Intelligence is developing large-scale AI models to power robots and make them more common in everyday life. Bezos participated in the startup's $400 million funding round in November 2024, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/business/dealbook/physical-intelligence-robot-ai.html">according to the New York Times</a>. The round values the company at $2.4 billion.<h2 id="2ba78ce7-aa8f-4717-8356-e9914923221e">Swiss-Mile</h2>Swiss-Mile is building wheeled robots that use AI to collect data and complete security, monitoring, construction, and logistics tasks. Bezos Expeditions co-led the startup's $22 million seed funding round in August 2024.<h2 id="fe799ff5-9d88-49b8-b385-e93238bec577">Figure AI</h2>Figure AI <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-bets-big-on-humanoid-robots-with-figure-ai-2024-2">builds AI robots</a> that can take over unsafe jobs from humans. Bezos Expeditions participated in the startup's $675 million Series B funding round in February 2024.<h2 id="fb6f4c9c-800e-4ed7-b0a4-269e017b8b3d">Deep Sentinel</h2>Deep Sentinel builds home security cameras that use AI to live-analyze videos and detect threats in real time. Bezos invested in an undisclosed funding round in 2021, while Bezos Expeditions invested in its $24 million Series A funding round in 2020.<h2 id="38b4a7c3-1836-4c3c-a117-1d7c464260b1">Fathom Radiant</h2>Fathom Radiant builds computer hardware that is used in AI development. Bezos invested in a $2.27 million funding round in 2020.<h2 id="024291ea-37ec-4a63-a289-9c6cae65bac9">Rethink Robotics</h2>Rethink Robotics builds robots that use AI to take on boring, dirty, and dangerous manufacturing jobs. The startup was acquired by HAHN Group in 2020. Bezos Expeditions invested in the startup's $30 million Series E in 2017, $40 million Series D in 2015, $30 million Series C in 2012, $20 million Series B in 2010, $7 million Series A1 in 2009, and $5 million Series A in 2008.

Jeff Bezos just made his latest bet in the AI robotics space. Here are the 6 startups he's backed so far.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>OpenAI has fired back at Elon Musk's latest lawsuit.</li><li>The startup accused the billionaire of harassing the company for "his own competitive advantage."</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-sam-altman-openai-shock-firing-microsoft-switch-2023-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">OpenAI</a> has hit back at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> amid a legal fight between the startup and its estranged cofounder, accusing the billionaire of harassment. In August, Musk <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-sues-openai-sam-altman-again-why-2024-8">sued OpenAI for the second time this year</a>, arguing that executives at the AI company had "deceived" him into cofounding the lab by playing on his concerns about existential risks from AI.The Tesla CEO's lawyers called <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-openai-needs-to-do-to-become-for-profit-altman-2024-9">OpenAI's transition from a nonprofit </a>structure to a "capped-profit" structure a "textbook tale of altruism versus greed."Musk cofounded OpenAI as a nonprofit AI lab in 2015 with CEO Sam Altman and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-openai-cofounders-are-now-sam-altman-2024-10">nine others</a>. He later resigned from the company's board of directors in 2018, a year before the company announced its for-profit arm.In response to Musk's lawsuit, OpenAI called it the latest move in Musk's "increasingly blusterous campaign to harass OpenAI for his own competitive advantage.""OpenAI is dedicated to the safe and beneficial development of artificial general intelligence ("AGI")," OpenAI's lawyers said in a court filing on Tuesday. "Musk once supported OpenAI in that mission but abandoned the venture when his bid to dominate it failed."The filing added: "Since launching a competing artificial intelligence company, xAI, Musk has been trying to leverage the judicial system for an edge."OpenAI asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that Musk failed to offer factual or "legal scaffolding needed to sustain his claims."Representatives for Musk and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.<h2 id="ce341dca-a002-4a3a-a9b2-3f2445cd973e">A long-running feud</h2>In March, Musk first sued OpenAI on similar grounds but later dropped the suit in June.The billionaire has publicly criticized OpenAI's fundraising and products sold through its for-profit arm, sharing memes and critical posts about the AI company via his social media platform, X.He's also criticized the company's close partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-openai-chatgpt-flirty-cringe-update-gpt4-2024-5">flagship product, ChatGPT.</a>Musk also took issue with OpenAI's recent historic funding round.In October, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-openai-company-chatgpt-elon-musk-founded-2022-12">OpenAI</a> completed a funding round of $6.6 billion, valuing it at $157 billion, making it the most valuable startup in the world.Musk later weighed in on the funding round in a post on X, sharing a report that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-mad-openai-asking-investors-not-to-fund-xai-2024-10">OpenAI had asked investors</a> for an exclusive funding agreement in which they would refrain from backing five of its competitors and calling the company "evil."Musk's xAI was reportedly among the list of five competitors, along with Perplexity, Glean, Anthropic, and Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence.OpenAI is reported to be moving further away from its nonprofit roots with plans to restructure to become a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-restructure-richer-control-2024-9">for-profit benefit corporation</a>.It's the latest development during a tumultuous period for the company that has seen several key executives part ways, including prominent figures like Mira Muta, the company's former CTO, and cofounder Ilya Sutskever.

OpenAI is accusing Elon Musk of harassing the startup. It's the latest escalation in a long-running feud. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jason Bennett, 46, moved from San Francisco to Medellín, Colombia in 2018.</li><li>Bennett quit his job at Banana Republic to move abroad and launch two startups.</li></ul>Jason Bennett had a successful career in San Francisco but didn't see a future for himself in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quit-job-after-rto-mandate-never-work-office-again-2024-9">the corporate world</a>.Bennett, 46, worked as a senior marketing director for Banana Republic. He earned a good salary and received great bonuses but <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-employees-disengaged-work-meaningless-fake-email-jobs-2024-6">felt unfulfilled</a>."I started to feel a disconnect with both my job and my city," Bennett said. "I started to wonder if I really wanted to spend the rest of my life in an office working for other people."In 2015, Bennett <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millenniall-quit-job-start-business-shares-advice-entrepreneurship-networking-mentor-2024-9">quit his job</a> at Banana Republic and founded True Star Consulting, a marketing firm that specializes in strategic planning and creative direction for brands. He said he had saved enough for the future and was ready to start a new adventure at the age of 37.At that time, Bennett moved to Lisbon and began running True Star Consulting as a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-retired-parents-digital-nomad-family-live-abroad-cheaply-2024-8">digital nomad</a>. In 2016, he visited Medellín, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-xer-moves-from-california-to-columbia-for-cheaper-retirement-2024-9">Colombia</a>, and said he envisioned it as his future home. He relocated there two years later.While many Americans are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-boomer-financial-independence-retired-age-60-puerto-vallarta-mexico-2024-9">moving abroad for retirement</a>, Bennett is among the working professionals <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-four-day-workweek-netherlands-chiropractor-high-skilled-visa-2024-9">seeking a career</a> outside the US. According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Reports/2022-OCPA-Report_Combined_Final_20230925.pdf">data</a> from the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which helps overseas citizens vote in US elections, 429,674 US citizens lived in South and Central America and the Caribbean in 2022, up from 374,241 in 2012."It was one of, if not the best, decisions I've ever made," Bennett said. "It always felt like home."<div type="image" title="Photo shows Jason Bennett, 46, looking over Medellín, Colombia, where he moved in 2018" height="853" width="1280" msid="114013025" hostid="261" sizebytes="301036"></div><h2 id="ecf25e36-8f0b-40e5-a4ac-8b941ed2b04d">Building financial independence started at a young age</h2>Bennett was born and raised in San Francisco. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Oregon in 2000.After college, Bennett worked in marketing at the department store Mervyn's before joining Banana Republic in 2004. Over the next decade, Bennett ascended through the corporate ranks, becoming a director of marketing in 2013 and a senior director shortly after.While Bennett enjoyed his job, he said he felt unsatisfied with his day-to-day work. He wanted to take ownership of his schedule and career growth."At the end of the day, I wanted to be my own boss," he said.Bennett said the prospect of quitting his job at Banana Republic seemed reasonable because he had been actively saving and was diligent about his finances."Very early on, my grandparents told me to max out my 401(k) and then go have fun, and that's what I did," Bennett said. "The lesson of compound interest should be topic No. 1 for anyone thinking about one day charting their own path."In 2012, while still living in San Francisco, he bought a one-bedroom, 700-square-foot condo for under $400,000. Bennett said he chose a 15-year mortgage to accelerate his home equity and lock in a lower interest rate.Bennett also grew his wealth through investing in stocks, index funds, and fixed-income securities like certificates of deposit. He's been keeping detailed track of his finances since 1995, when he was 17 years old.Bennett said he felt confident to quit his own job to earn a fraction of the salary at his own company — and he felt confident to move abroad. He declined to share what his company books in revenue."I didn't know I was going to do this when I was 25," Bennett said. "But I did know it was important to save."<h2 id="70ee5480-51eb-4164-ab61-205bbf2d0ddc">Life in Medellín compared to San Francisco</h2>Bennett said life in Medellín is incredible, from the weather to the culture and food.He said his cost of living is much lower than in San Francisco. For example, he said he can have "excellent meals" for less than $10, and a cup of "the world's best coffee" for less than $2. He also said public transportation and Uber are inexpensive<div type="image" title="Photo shows a cup of coffee in a café in Medellín, Colombia." height="1695" width="1440" msid="114013028" hostid="261" sizebytes="189744"></div>Bennett is single and child-free, which also keeps his daily costs down.He feels so passionate about Medellín that he founded a tourist company, The Paisa Plan, to help people plan their visits to Colombia and the city. However, Bennett declined to share what his company books in revenue.He also volunteers his marketing strategy services for the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra."It reflects my love, respect, and appreciation for my adopted home, and aims to help visitors really discover the magic of Medellín," he said.<div type="image" title="Photo shows Jason Bennett, 46, in Medellín, Colombia, with his mother." height="3024" width="4032" msid="114013030" hostid="261" sizebytes="2150056"></div>He said he is still smart about savings, despite having a lower cost of living.Six years into his life in Medellín, Bennett said he has a better work-life balance than he ever experienced in San Francisco. Additionally, he said the city is full of energy."I also take every opportunity to explore the city and immerse myself in what it has to offer," he said. "There are so many excellent restaurants and cafés. More stunning parks than you can count. And there is always something happening culturally."Are you an American who moved abroad for work? This reporter wants to hear your story. Please reach out at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto:jtowfighi@businessinsider.com">jtowfighi@businessinsider.com</a>

A Gen Xer quit his corporate job in SF and moved to Colombia. He said Medellín is more affordable and he's been able to launch 2 startups.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Donald Trump doesn't invest in non-family enterprises, said "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban.</li><li>This, Cuban says, is a reflection of Trump's character.</li></ul>Billionaire investor <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-kamala-harris-only-candidate-in-founder-mode-2024-9">Mark Cuban</a> has a question he wants people voting for former President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-already-trialing-nicknames-for-potential-kamala-harris-face-off-2024-7">Donald Trump</a> to answer — and a point to prove about it."For all Trump supporters. A question. Which startups has Donald Trump ever invested in that didn't involve a family member?" the "Shark Tank" star wrote in an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/mcuban/status/1832897559775567987">X post</a> on Sunday.Trump didn't seem to have any investments in non-family enterprises, Cuban later said in an exchange with another X user called Chart Westcott.This lack of investment, Cuban said, was a reflection of Trump's character."You invest in businesses. Right? How many super wealthy business people do you know that have never decided to give even one entrepreneur a shot by investing in their business?" Cuban wrote in a post to Westcott."Don't you have a desire to give back to others? To help startups as a way of helping others achieve their American Dream?" Cuban wrote in a subsequent post."Every wealthy person I know, except for DJT, has tried to help others."When approached for comment, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign cited Trump's track record as a property mogul."President Trump is a self-made successful businessman who helped build and forever change New York's iconic skyline," the spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider."His other ventures also include creating and starring in one of the most watched television shows in history — much more successful than Shark Tank — and then becoming the 45th President of the United States," the spokesperson continued.Prior to entering politics, Trump was both the host and co-producer of the NBC reality television series, "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apprentice-producer-says-donald-trump-used-n-word-on-set-2024-5">The Apprentice</a>" from 2004 to 2015.NBC would later part ways with Trump in June 2015 over his comments about Mexican immigrants during his first presidential campaign.This isn't the first time Cuban has criticized Trump's record as a businessman.Cuban, who said he's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-kamala-harris-only-candidate-in-founder-mode-2024-9">backing Vice President Kamala Harris</a> this November, compared Trump to a "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-trump-snake-oil-salesperson-not-voting-for-him-2024-3">snake oil salesperson</a>" during an interview with Axios earlier this year."I don't want a snake oil salesperson as president. I'm voting for Biden/Harris over Trump all day every day," Cuban told the outlet in a story published in March."Trump voters are happy with their snake oil whether it works or not," Cuban added.Representatives for Cuban didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Mark Cuban wants Trump supporters to tell him what startups their man has backed that didn't involve a member of the Trump family

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The founder of startup HeadSpin just got an 18-month prison sentence for wire and securities fraud.</li><li>He admitted he gave investors wrong financial information, defrauding them out of over $100 million.</li></ul>The founder of a buzzy Silicon Valley startup was sentenced to prison over a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme — and prosecutors want it to be a lesson to other "fake it til you make it" entrepreneurs.Manish Lachwani, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/headspin-mobile-app-testing-startup-raises-20-million-2018-10">former CEO of app testing company HeadSpin</a>, was sentenced on Friday to 18 months in prison, plus three years supervised release, for wire fraud and securities fraud, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/silicon-valley-start-founder-sentenced-18-months-prison-wire-fraud-and-securities">Department of Justice announced</a>.Lachwani pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2023, admitting that he had knowingly given investors wrong information on the company's financials and customer base. Those false documents helped him dupe investors out of more than $100 million between 2017 and 2020, according to the DOJ.Lachwani founded the software-as-a-service company — which gives clients software and tools to test out mobile apps — in 2015. He served as its CEO until he was ousted in 2020 after the board launched an internal investigation into company financials, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=08884f1d4dd269dcf59a5991a9e048023c42c0907286318e3b1b0663e0ea76a0&amp;postID=6627b7ffe483176aba01acba&amp;postSlug=former-ceo-tech-startup-headspin-sentenced-fraud-case-2024-4&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fstartup-headspin-to-return-funding-after-probe-of-financial-statements">The Information reported</a>. The company is still operating under new leadership.Lachwani's defense argued in a court filing that "The Court has referenced a 'fake-it-till-you-make-it' mentality in Silicon Valley; HeadSpin has in a very real way 'made it' and HeadSpin's investors may still see a highly profitable exit."But the judge and prosecutors would not let the "fake it" part of the equation slide."This defendant admitted he lied about his company's revenue and customers to attract funding from investors, including many in Silicon Valley," US prosecuting attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in the DOJ's statement. "Today's sentencing should send a message to other entrepreneurs who may be tempted to cross the line into fraud and to 'fake it until they make it.'""This Office is committed to protecting investors—including those whose capital powers the engines of innovation in Silicon Valley—from start-ups that misrepresent their finances and try to cut corners," Ramsey said.Lachwani's fraudulent behavior <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-like-headspin-can-limit-what-information-they-give-investors-2020-8">highlights how private startups can keep information</a> from their backers.Representatives for Lachwani and HeadSpin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Former CEO of buzzy tech startup hit with prison time for fraud

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Barthélémy Kiss, 36, is a politics graduate running his second AI company Powder. </li><li>He said creative thinkers from humanities backgrounds are necessary to push AI forward.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Barthélémy Kiss, a 36-year-old AI entrepreneur in Paris. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.My journey into AI started in 2015 when I co-organized the "Hello Tomorrow" startup conference in Paris. I heard a pitch that blew me away. Eric Risser, my future cofounder at Artomatix, was presenting an AI image-generation technique. This depiction of artificial intelligence — still a developing field back then — showed computers mimicking and augmenting human creativity. I was so excited and knew I needed to participate in this project.After building Artomatix, which was acquired by Unity in 2020, I co-founded Powder in 2018, my second startup in the AI space. We've created a PC app using half a dozen AI approaches to help edit long videos for video game streamers.Working on this startup, I've learned that people with a liberal arts background have a major edge in our industry. The liberal arts grads we've hired have a creative, human-centric approach to understanding the best applications of AI in their respective fields. They have a hunger for constant education and a desire for self-improvement, which is essential in this space. At a core level, liberal arts disciplines hone critical thinking. We need critical thinkers to challenge the results of AI. Models can hallucinate, so you need to be able to cross-reference data.<h2>We need creative thinkers to get the best out of AI technology</h2>Human creativity is crucial in the AI space. AI models still require huge data sets to come up with creative solutions and don't adapt their learnings as dynamically as humans. Humans definitely have the upper hand when it comes to creativity on the spot.In 2023, there was lots of excitement about foundational models like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Runway. We're only just scratching the surface of what this trend will bring. Creative people can connect the dots in unexpected ways to harness this new technology in the most convincing way.When hiring, we're looking for passion about what we do and a skillset in the intersection between gaming, video content, and AI. Candidates don't need to have AI experience. Even within our most technical research team, two members previously worked on topics adjacent to AI, but not strictly AI, like data engineering and content labeling.<h2>Career switchers and arts grads have a home in AI</h2>Most of Powder's staff are taking a new direction in their career when they start, simply because an application that harnesses AI is so new.With this in mind, career switchers have a home in AI-related companies. We have a former creative in the ad industry who's now a UX designer, somebody else who was a trained architect and is now our front-end developer, and a former movie director who became a YouTuber and later our social-media manager.When people embrace career changes, it shows they're risk-takers. These kinds of employees will thrive provided their company supports them to learn and develop on the job.I studied political sciences, and my cofounder Stan is a fine art graduate who also studied moviemaking. He created our prototype and has always seen product design artistically. Our chief technology officer, Maryan, studied literature and macroeconomy before progressively moving into AI. His love for writing and economics helped him learn to become a great code writer. He says code is like literature: it needs to be written well and easily understood by anyone who reads it.Many companies in the AI industry are staffed by creatives. Pierre Boulez, a composer, created the French AI music and sound company Ircam Lab. Many of its contributors and AI engineers are musicians. They have a creative foundation yet also want to solve problems with math.<h2>Working in AI means learning on the job, no matter your background</h2>For anyone joining the company, it's a steep learning curve. Most personal and professional development happens through on-the-job training. We encourage the use of AI at work because we're developing an AI application. Our team needs to know the codes and standards in this space.We tell our team they can subscribe to AI services to augment their work, but we don't enforce it. Adoption should be organic, driven by a personal desire to experiment. This new breed of application is so young that to get the most out of it, we all need to be learning constantly — no matter how long we have been at the company or in the field.While AI engineers are absolutely key, it's only through alliances between talent from liberal arts backgrounds, who can think creatively about building applications around this tech stack, that the technology will reach its full potential.

I'm an AI startup founder and love hiring liberal arts grads. They give us a surprising edge.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Founded in 2012, Preply offers virtual live language tutoring for over 50 languages.</li><li>The founders started Preply after they moved from Ukraine to the US.</li></ul>Over a decade ago, Preply CEO Kirill Bigai and his future cofounders Dmytro Voloshyn and Sergey Lukyanov moved from Ukraine to Boston for work. At the time, Bigai felt like his English proficiency wasn't where he wanted it to be. "On paper, I was intermediate, but I was struggling to connect with people for business, " he said.To help with his English, Bigai found an online tutor who taught classes from Texas via Skype. The two hit it off and he could tell that his English skills were improving. He started to see the potential for online language tutoring as a viable business model, since online lessons were cheaper than in-person lessons and class schedules were more flexible.In the summer of 2012, Bigai, Voloshyn and Lukyanov founded the online language learning startup Preply. In the decade since its founding, Preply has grown to 500 employees of 60 different nationalities, with over 35,000 online tutors, and offices in Barcelona, Boston, and Kyiv.Last month, Preply <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/07/19/2707255/0/en/Ukrainian-Founded-Preply-raises-70m-to-Supercharge-Language-Tutors-with-AI.html">raised a $70 million Series C extension round</a> with a combination of debt and equity led by Horizon Capital. Reach Capital, Hoxton Ventures and Owl Ventures, which led its previous $50 million Series C in 2022, also participated.Some of Preply's more prominent competitors include apps like Duolingo or other virtual tutoring companies like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hired-at-amazon-after-learning-english-with-app-cambly-2022-7">Cambly</a>, which only offers English lessons. The global language learning market was estimated to be valued around <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/language-learning-market">$52 billion</a> and growing in 2022.Preply offers classes in 50 languages, and tutors are independent contractors who set their own rates and schedules. While consumer language learners use Preply, many of the startup's customers come from enterprise partnerships with over 200 companies, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/datadog-ceo-developer-platform-company-cybersecurity-it-finance-2021-10">Datadog</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-job-at-bain-global-head-recruiting-2021-11">Bain</a>.But back when Preply was founded, the team found it hard to even recruit tutors to teach online classes, let alone attract investors, Bigai said. "We were contacting tutors who had never done online classes, and they were suspicious about it," he said.Over the years, though, more investors became familiar with Preply's model. In 2015, the team took a meeting with a well-known investor in Berlin, who told the founders he had heard of the company because he was using it to learn Czech so he could speak to his wife in her native language, said Bigai.Since then, Preply moved on from being bootstrapped. It first took venture funding in 2016, Bigai said. After this most recent $70 million Series C extension, Preply's total funding sits at around $170 million, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/91286-74">PitchBook</a>, and this latest infusion of cash will help develop more products that use generative AI, he said."We hadn't done a large language learning investment yet, which was surprising as an edtech fund," said Reach Capital partner James Kim, who handled Preply's Series C for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/edtech-vc-firm-reach-capital-raises-education-startup-investing-2023-4">Reach</a>. "It's a category that's ripe for tech enablement."The company's successful fundraising comes after a difficult year personally for the Preply team. The cofounders of Preply are all Ukrainian, and Preply had over 150 employees in Kyiv when Russia invaded <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-tech-startups-help-employees-in-ukraine-grammarly-2022-3">Ukraine</a> at the beginning of 2022. Bigai and his cofounders established a team effort, called "no Prepler left behind," that helped colleagues find accommodations for the first few months outside of Kyiv and get cash from their salaries up front.All of Preply's Ukrainian employees are accounted for to date, and 100 have returned to Kyiv. "It was a big inspiration to see people working on the team, despite what had happened," Bigai said,Moving forward, the biggest launch for Preply has been its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/education-experts-teachers-generative-ai-chatgpt-classroom-2023-1">AI tutoring assistant</a>, which can generate new customized lesson plans and exercises. But Bigai is clear that it will not replace the need for human language teachers. "We believe in a world where efficient online language learning is human led and supported by AI," he said.Correction: August, 28, 2023 — A previous version of this story stated that Preply took venture capital funding in 2020, not 2016, and that the company had over 115 employees in Kyiv when Russia invaded Ukraine, not 150.

How Preply became one of the largest online language learning startups in the world

<ul><li>BYJU's is an <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">edtech</keyword> platform founded in 2015 with a current valuation of $22 billion. </li><li>Management of the edtech platform says cost-cutting is being done to “achieve overall profitability by March 2023”. </li><li>Many edtech firms have resorted to layoffs this year. </li></ul>Indian edtech decacorn BYJU's announced yesterday that it has laid off 2,500 employees as it has consolidated the many platforms it has acquired – like Toppr, Meritnation, <keyword id="192259" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tutorvista" source="Orion">TutorVista</keyword>, Scholar and HashLearn. This move, the company said, is a way to avoid redundancies in job roles and the layoffs constitute 5% of its workforce. “These measures will help us achieve profitability in the defined time frame of March 2023," said Mrinal Mohit, CEO, BYJU'S India business. As per the audited FY21 financials that it released last month after an 18-month delay, its losses widened by 20 times to ₹4,589 crore. In the last three years, the company has been on an acquisition spree. Its biggest one so far is that of offline test preparatory services provider Aakash for $1 billion in 2021. The payments to PE major Blackstone, which owned 38% in Aakash, were eventually <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/byjus-clears-230-million-dues-to-blackstone-for-aakash-acquisition/article65931486.ece">cleared by the company, albeit after delays</a>. It has also purchased Singapore-based <keyword id="6559242" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="great-learning" source="Orion">Great Learning</keyword> for $600 million in 2021. Both these entities will function independently, <keyword id="3320944" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="byjus" source="Orion">Byjus</keyword> had said. Edtechs in trouble This year, many edtech companies have been suffering from loss of clientele after offline classes have commenced and screen fatigue. Since July this year, many edtech companies like Unacademy and Vedantu have been laying off <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/60000-jobs-in-startup-companies-may-lose-their-jobs-this-year-in-india-experts-say/amp_articleshow/91804572.cms">employees</a>. Byju’s which has by then also made its presence felt in offline coaching, is also known to have gone down the same path. As per reports, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/byju-s-owned-whitehat-jr-lays-off-300-employees-in-latest-round-of-job-cuts-122062900323_1.html">WhiteHat Jr, owned by Byju's</a>, laid off around 300 employees in June from the code-teaching and sales teams. However, various <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/business/byjus-lays-off-over-2500-employees-in-toppr-and-whitehat-jr-to-cut-costs-5463853.html">media reports have pegged the layoff </a>number between 1,500-2,500. The company vehemently denied the numbers, but did admit to retrenchments. “To recalibrate our business priorities and accelerate our long-term growth, we are optimizing our teams across our group companies. This entire exercise involves less than 500 employees from across Byju's group companies,” the company spokesperson said after denying the 2,500 layoff number. In good shape says management The edtech giant, which is valued at around $22 billion and is the first edtech unicorn in India has also been under scrutiny for various reasons. The company management however insists that it is in good shape. <keyword id="5563078" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="divya-gokulnath" source="Orion">Divya Gokulnath</keyword>, the company’s co-founder also came out in defense of the company saying that a lot has happened since its FY21 results and its widened losses have already been cut by half in FY22. “It’s easy to forget that we are 18 months post FY21, and that BYJU’S has grown more than 4 times in this span,” she wrote in an open letter on LinkedIn. For this year, the company has set a target to achieve $2 billion in revenues. The company founder has stated time <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/byju-s-focusing-on-profitable-growth-2-bn-revenue-within-the-sights-ceo-122092001266_1.html">and again that this</a> “revenue within sight”. On the other end of the spectrum, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58951449">Byju’s users have been complaining </a>about aggressive sales tactics and its effects on learning abilities. Moreover, a few of its employees too <a href="https://twitter.com/malpani/status/1379826997598121987?lang=en">publicly spoke of its</a> high-pressure tactics and practices that’s turned almost exploitative to Indian parents who place a lot of value on their children’s education. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/investments-in-real-estate-touched-3-6-billion-in-jan-sep-period-colliers/articleshow/94833113.cms">Investments in real estate touched $3.6 billion in Jan-Sep period: Colliers</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/it-cos-go-slow-on-hiring-despite-high-attrition-rates-hiring-down-57-in-q2/articleshow/94832706.cms">IT cos go slow on hiring despite high attrition rates, hiring down 57% in Q2</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/elon-musk-jokes-he-is-selling-perfumes-to-fund-twitter-acquisition/articleshow/94832660.cms">Elon Musk jokes he is selling ‘Burnt Hair’ perfumes to fund Twitter acquisition, changes bio to “Perfume Salesman” as sales cross 20,000</a>

The many troubles at BYJU’s that goes beyond the recent layoffs

<ul><li>The Times 100 <keyword id="17778773" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="most-influential-companies" source="Orion">most influential companies</keyword> of 2023 list has been divided in five sub categories.</li><li>Polygon Labs, a company founded by Sandeep Nailwal and Jaynti Kanani, of Indian origin, has made it to the list too.</li><li>Elon Musk owned SpaceX and language learning app Duolingo are featured in the Leader category</li></ul> There is good news and not so good news. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks' Association (IBA) 2008 launched National Payments Corporation of India or the <keyword id="193629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="npci" source="Orion">NPCI</keyword> has featured in the <keyword id="518661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="times-list" source="Orion">Times list</keyword> of top-100 influential companies. What more? Another youngster, Meesho, founded only in 2015, has made it too. The not so good news? These are the only two on the list. NCPI is a non-profit umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI owns and operates the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and is also in charge of the RuPay payment system, which works like Visa and MasterCard. Recently, it has created a separate subsidiary to take its product to the global market. According to media reports, it is in talks with Gulf nations, including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, to expand its UPI service. Meanwhile, e-commerce platform Meesho, which specialises in retail distribution, has also made it to the coveted list. A few weeks earlier, a report by mobile data analytics provider data.a, Meesho became the fastest shopping app to cross 500 million cumulative downloads. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The categorisation and the notable mentions" comment="subhead" text="The categorisation and the notable mentions">The categorisation and the notable mentions</cmsannotation> The list has been divided in five sub categories – leaders, disruptors, innovators, titans and pioneers. NPCI and Meesho both have been mentioned under the ‘Pioneers’. The Titans section has big powerhouses such as IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Lockheed Martin etc. An interesting name in this list is TikTok. Footwear brand Crocs and Polygon Labs, founded by Sandeep Nailwal and Jaynti Kanani, of Indian origin, have been mentioned in the Innovators section. Elon Musk owned SpaceX, language learning app Duolingo and gaming chipmaker Nvidia are the quick noticeable names under the Leader category.

UPI parent body and this e-commerce startup are on Times list of top-100 influential companies

Auto components maker <keyword id="16974120" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="lifelong-group" source="Orion">Lifelong Group</keyword> on Wednesday said it has acquired stressed automobile after-sales service startup <keyword id="3933763" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gomechanic" source="Orion">GoMechanic</keyword> for an undisclosed amount. The <keyword id="16975195" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gomechanic-business" source="Orion">GoMechanic business</keyword> has been acquired by the Lifelong Group as the majority shareholder under Servizzy consortium, the Delhi-based firm said in a statement. The Lifelong Group is an Indian company established in 1985 and has been looking to expand its operations in the automotive service and repair industry. This acquisition and new ownership structure with Lifelong Group, a manufacturer of automotive components, medical devices, and a player in the e-commerce space, heralds a new phase for GoMechanic business, it added. The Servizzy consortium, to be led by the Lifelong Group, emerged as the strongest bid in this process for the acquisition of the GoMechanic Business in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the agreement, it noted. Financial details regarding the deal were not shared. In January this year, GoMechanic co-founder <keyword id="2254426" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="amit-bhasin" source="Orion">Amit Bhasin</keyword> admitted to errors in financial reporting, following which a forensic audit has been ordered and a business restructuring undertaken which will see 70 per cent of the 1,000-odd workforce being laid off. Nearly two years after it raised a mammoth USD 42 million in funding, it emerged that GoMechanic cooked its financial books by inflating revenues. GoMechanic navigated the recent challenges by continuing operations across 800 workshops and servicing 30,000 vehicles in January. "Acquisition of the GoMechanic business, aligns with our strategic vision of synergising the Lifelong Group's proven expertise in the automotive industry. We are focused on building upon GoMechanic's business journey, and will continue revolutionizing the Indian automotive service and repair industry," a Lifelong Group official spokesperson said. Lifelong Group diversified into auto component manufacturing in 1995, medical devices in 2005 and e-commerce in 2015. The business has grown from an annual revenue of USD 0.5 million in 1995 to over USD 175 million today and caters to major customers in the automotive industry like <keyword id="6587061" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="hero-moto-corp" source="Orion">Hero Moto Corp</keyword>, General Motors, <keyword id="251458" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="arvin-meritor" source="Orion">Arvin Meritor</keyword>, Stanley Black &amp; Decker etc. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/we-used-chatgpt-to-plan-international-trips-heres-a-tour-of-the-results/articleshow/99082349.cms">We used ChatGPT to plan international trips - here’s a tour of the results!</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/sc-allows-centres-plea-seeking-5000-cr-from-sebi-sahara-fund-to-repay-depositors/articleshow/99082509.cms">SC allows Centre's plea seeking ₹5,000 cr from SEBI-Sahara fund to repay depositors</a>

Lifelong Group-led consortium acquires troubled car servicing startup GoMechanic

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard says EV companies shouldn't try to compete head-on with Tesla.</li><li>He said EV startups should try to find their own market and avoid launching Tesla-like models.</li></ul>Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard thinks too many car companies are trying to beat Tesla at its own game and that it's a recipe for failure."My advice to anybody who wants to get into the EV space now is don't try to compete head-on with Tesla," Eberhard <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cofounder-martin-eberhard-interview-history-elon-musk-ev-market-2023-2">told Insider in an interview</a>. "Don't make the exact same model." Eberhard said he was disappointed by certain companies, like Lucid. He said Lucid is trying to compete directly against the Model S with a similar electric sedan, the Lucid Air. It unveiled its first prototype for the Lucid Air in 2016 and made its first delivery to customers in 2021. The four-door luxury sedan has a price range of $87,400 to $179,000 and can run up to 520 miles on a full charge.Eberhard knows a lot of former Tesla engineers who work at Lucid, he told Insider. Eberhard said he worked at Lucid in 2015, when the company was still known as Atieva, but was "not a big fan" of its CEO and left after six weeks.Lucid confirmed that Eberhard worked at the startup for a short period in 2015 but declined to comment on his departure. A representative for the startup pushed back on Eberhard's characterization of the Lucid Air, calling it a "new benchmark for EV sports sedans."Ultimately, the Tesla cofounder said, companies need to stop seeing the automotive market as a "winner-take-all industry.""There's different kinds of cars for different market segments," Eberhard said. "From the beginning, everybody at Tesla knew that, eventually, the auto industry would catch up with them and they would be competing against a bunch of other car companies."He added: "The world has supported more than a dozen successful large car companies for generations. I don't see that changing."Eberhard said he thought more companies should try to emulate Rivian's business plan."I'm much more enthusiastic, at least with the business plan, of companies like Rivian," Eberhard said. "Rivian has looked out there and said, 'You know, the No. 1-selling vehicle in North America is the F-150 truck.' So if we want to find a new market, that's a lucrative place to work."In the early '90s, Eberhard and his longtime friend Marc Tarpenning came up with the idea for a company that would make cars powered by lithium-ion batteries. The two men founded Tesla in 2003, and Eberhard left the carmaker in 2007. Eberhard <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-elon-musk-fired-tesla-ceo-2014-11">previously told Insider's Drake Baer</a> that Elon Musk and Tesla's board had met behind his back and voted to replace him as CEO.When Eberhard left, Musk said the departure was related to delays in the Tesla Roadster's production, as well as <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2009/06/22/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-sets-the-record-straight-about-pending-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other operational issues</a>."It was not a question of personality differences, as the decision to have Martin transition to an advisory role was unanimous among the board," Musk <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/12/05/co-founder-martin-eberhard-leaves-tesla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said at the time</a>. "Tesla has operational problems that need to be solved and if the board thought there was any way that Martin could be part of the solution, then he would still be an employee of the company."Musk did not respond to several requests from Insider for comment on this story. Emails to Tesla's press line were not returned.After leaving Tesla, Eberhard served for about two years as the director of EV development at Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratory. He has also worked at startups including SF Motors and <a href="https://electrek.co/2019/05/29/tesla-founder-eberhard-new-electric-car-battery-startup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> two EV-battery startups, Inevit and Tiveni.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cofounder-martin-eberhard-interview-history-elon-musk-ev-market-2023-2">Read the full Insider interview with Martin Eberhard.</a>Do you work for Tesla or have some insight to share? Reach out to the reporter via email at gkay@insider.com, on the secure-messaging app Signal at 248-894-6012, or through Twitter DM at @graceihle. Reach out using a nonwork device.

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