Y Combinator co-leads $1.9m seed round of ex-Googlers’ AI startup

India-based AI startup Fountain9 raised US$1.9 million in seed funding in a round led by 021 Capital and Y Combinator.

Fountain9 co-founders Niki Kholake and Rajas Lonkar. Back in Google, Kholake was head of strategy and analytics for Google Fiber while Lonkar was a product manager. / Photo credit: Fountain9

Founded in 2019 by ex-Googlers Niki Kholake and Rajas Lonkar, the firm developed Kronoscope, an AI engine that optimizes inventory management by analyzing consumer patterns to predict short- and long-term demand.

Fountain9’s product targets food brands, ecommerce players, and retailers to help them plan smarter and reduce stock-related waste and losses.

The fresh funds will go toward improving Kronoscope’s demand-sensing engine, strengthening Fountain9’s product offerings, and the startup’s expansion into global markets.

“Globally, about US$260 billion worth of food gets wasted because inventory decisions worth millions of dollars are still being made using spreadsheets and heuristics,” said Fountain9 co-founder and CEO Kholake.

Fountain9 is part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 cohort.