Data key to investing in AI companies: Investor at Manorama Sampadyam Business meet

Kochi: The amount of data a company possesses and how it uses it are among the key criteria investors consider when investing in ventures in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, an investor disclosed at the Malayala Manorama Sampadyam Kerala Business Summit 2025 on Thursday. Denny Kurien, president and CEO of Keiretsu Forum, an angel investors network, was speaking at a panel discussion on 'Smart businesses in the era of AI'. 

"AI is having a lot of influence on various aspets of our daily life. Businesses need to address this," Kurien, a journalist-turned-investor, said. He, however, stressed that no matter how much data or AI is incorporated into a business, the credentials of a founder remain an important factor when it comes to early-stage investments.

Vimal Govind, MD, Genrobotics, explained how he started using AI for learning and came to use it as a creative solution in his much-praised robotics startup. He said his company's flagship product Bandicoot, the robot used to clean manholes, is a creative way of using AI.

He said the biggest difficulty he faced while developing the product was the concerns about people who have been doing the job of manhole cleaning losing their job. He said though it took almost a month to train them how to use the machine for the work initially, after proper redesigning of user interface with AI a person can learn how to use it in a day now.

Ramanunni, co-founder and CEO, Chargemod, highlighted the cut in hardware expenses his company could gain with AI. He said AI helps businesses cut cost in building control infrastructures because algorithms do the job now. 

Mathew T George, news editor, The Week was the session's moderator.