- Published on August 11, 2025
- In AI Startups
Astra Collapse Shows What Indian AI Startups Still Need to Figure Out
Astra landed two major clients and faced no direct competitors in its niche. But it never scaled beyond beta.
- By Mohit Pandey
In late July 2025, Astra — a young AI sales-tech startup backed by Perplexity AI founder Aravind Srinivas — shut down just four months after having raised funds. The closure wasn’t an isolated blip; it captured the growing pains of India’s AI ecosystem, as it moved from hype to hard reality.
Astra’s cofounder and CEO Supreet Hegde was candid in his exit note. Disagreements with cofounder Ranjan Rajagopalan over growth pace, long enterprise sales cycles, and a lack of trust from potential customers weighed the company down, according to Hegde.
The sudden rise of competing AI agents only added confusion for buyers.
“Working with larger companies meant navigating lengthy sales cycles, especially as an early-stage startup asking clients to trust us with sensitive dat
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Mohit Pandey
Mohit writes about AI in simple, explainable, and often funny words. He's especially passionate about chatting with those building AI for Bharat, with the occasional detour into AGI.
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