Ex-Delhivery tech head Prashant Parashar and ex-Cleartrip chief business officer Anuj Rathi have launched Profound, an AI-native startup focused on providing AI-powered professional support for individuals. The startup emerged from stealth with $1.5 million in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners and 3one4 Capital. The funding round also included angel investors such as Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety and Razorpay CEO Harshil Mathur, among others, according to inc42.com.
Profound is developing an AI assistant or "representative" designed to support professionals across various fields by learning their expertise, experience, working style, and career ambitions through a 30-minute voice conversation. The AI agent functions similarly to personal managers used by athletes, actors, and musicians. Parashar, the startup’s CTO, has previously led tech teams at Delhivery, Snapdeal, and Ola, while Rathi has experience scaling product and marketing initiatives at Jupiter and Swiggy, inc42.com reported.
The launch of Profound reflects growing interest in AI-driven personal and professional assistance, intersecting recruitment, social media, and AI technologies. The startup joins a competitive landscape where AI is increasingly used to enhance productivity and career management. The involvement of prominent investors from India’s tech ecosystem highlights confidence in AI applications tailored for individual professionals, a sector gaining traction alongside enterprise AI solutions, per inc42.com.
Profound’s seed funding round was announced this week, with participation from notable angel investors including CRED founder Kunal Shah and Zomato cofounder Pankaj Chaddah, as stated by inc42.com.