In a heartwarming incident that deviates from the typical rental stories in Bengaluru, a landlord has invested $10,000 (approximately ₹8.2 Lakh) in the AI-driven matrimonial app developed by his tenant, Pawan Gupta, the co-founder and CEO of Betterhalf.ai.
Pawan Gupta took to Twitter to share a screenshot of his conversation with his landlord, named Sushil. The landlord expressed his support and investment by saying, “I’m investing in you… all the best and hope you reach the greatest of heights.”
Sushil confirmed that he had indeed invested $10,000 in Pawan Gupta’s AI startup.
In a tough business landscape, I found an unexpected investor in my landlord. He recently invested $10K in my startup @betterhalfai. Truly amazed by the entrepreneurial spirit everyone in Bangalore shows. Silicon Valley of India for a reason. #peakbengalurumoment pic.twitter.com/IfzUn0lPkl
— Pawan Gupta (@pguptasloan) June 2, 2023
“In a tough business landscape, I found an unexpected investor in my landlord,” Gupta stated while sharing the screenshot. He further added, “Truly amazed by the entrepreneurial spirit everyone in Bangalore shows. Silicon Valley of India for a reason.”
The investment was greeted with applause and referred to be a “peak Bengaluru” moment in the comments section.
Betterhalf.ai previously secured $3 million in a Pre-Series A investment led by Y Combinator in 2021. Venture capital firms such as S2 Capital and Quiet Capital, as well as angel investors Kunal Shah and Samvit Ramadurgam, contributed to the startup’s investment.
It also received $8.5 million in Series A fundraising from FinSight Ventures, Rebel Fund, and Nurture Ventures, according to Inc42. The startup was also a part of the W21 cohort at Y Combinator.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Bengaluru, Betterhalf is an AI-powered matchmaking platform co-founded by Pawan Gupta and Rahul Namdev. The company utilises artificial intelligence to assist individuals in finding compatible matches. According to Betterhalf’s website, it boasts over 1.5 million users and facilitates approximately 200,000 new connections each month. In 2021, the startup experienced significant growth in revenue, reaching ₹5.5 crore, which marked a 300% increase from the previous year when they earned ₹1.4 crore.