MAM
MaxIQ plugs in AI ace Sastry Malladi as CTO to power up its next big leap
MUMBAI: MaxIQ didn’t just hire a CTO; it summoned a Silicon Valley warlock. With three decades of engineering sorcery under his belt, Sastry Malladi has joined the AI startup as chief technology officer—and he’s not here to play nice with traditional revenue models. Backed by Dell Technologies Capital and Intel Capital, MaxIQ just added a whole lot of firepower to its AI engine.
The appointment of Malladi comes at a time when MaxIQ is gearing up for hypergrowth. He will lead the company’s product and engineering teams as they expand their Revenue AI platform—a brainy beast designed to help B2B SaaS teams turn messy sales pipelines into clean, predictable growth machines.
Malladi is no stranger to the startup trenches. He co-founded FogHorn Systems (later snapped up by Johnson Controls), built large-scale platforms at eBay and Oracle, and holds the kind of AI chops that make recruiters weep with envy. Now, he’s bringing that playbook to MaxIQ.
“I’m thrilled to join the leadership team at MaxIQ during this pivotal growth phase. Today’s revenue teams are operating in silos—disconnected tools for sales and success lead to inaccurate forecasts, missed handoffs, and lost opportunities. With Revenue AI, we have the chance to change the game. I’m excited to build the platform that brings it all together,” said Malladi.
At MaxIQ, he’ll lead the development of its Agentic AI capabilities. That includes forecasting, onboarding, product adoption, and revenue expansion—all in one unified dashboard that’s less spreadsheet, more smart rocket.
His arrival follows MaxIQ’s recent $7.8 million seed round, led by Dell Technologies Capital and supported by Intel Capital. With fresh funding and a battle-tested CTO in place, the company is ready to turbocharge its R&D roadmap and hire globally.
CEO Matt Hickey didn’t hold back on the praise. “Sastry’s track record of technical excellence and entrepreneurial success speaks for itself. He’s the right leader to help us scale the next-generation platform that today’s GTM teams have been waiting for.”
As B2B SaaS companies scramble to align sales, customer success, and RevOps, MaxIQ is rolling out the AI red carpet. From deal qualification to onboarding and renewals, it’s offering a one-stop revenue command centre—and with Malladi now at the helm, the platform is only getting sharper.
Brands
Abhinav Rastogi named global marketing director for YouTube Shopping
Google veteran to scale creator commerce and expand shopping across global markets
SINGAPORE: Abhinav Rastogi has stepped into a new role as global marketing director for YouTube Shopping, marking the latest chapter in a more than decade-long career at Google.
Rastogi, who took on the position in February and is based in Singapore, will lead global marketing for YouTube Shopping, a platform designed to connect creators, viewers and merchants in a single ecosystem. His remit includes expanding the service into new markets and strengthening its positioning as a growth channel for both creators and brands.
In a reflective note on the transition, Rastogi pointed to a simple but powerful idea driving the role. For years, creators have quietly built trust with audiences through consistent and authentic content, and that trust often shapes purchasing decisions. What is changing now, he said, is the infrastructure around that behaviour. YouTube Shopping aims to make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products recommended by creators they already follow.
The scale is already significant. More than half a million creators have joined the programme, with recent expansion into Japan through a partnership with Rakuten signalling further global ambitions.
Rastogi believes the future of shopping on YouTube will be driven by a blend of creators, content and communities. In his view, it is the human voice behind the screen, not just the product, that ultimately builds trust and drives discovery.
Prior to this role, he served as director of marketing, YouTube Asia Pacific, where he led regional marketing across creator engagement, brand building and reputation. During that time, he played a key role in launching and scaling YouTube Shopping across eight markets in the region.
Earlier stints at Google include group product marketing manager, consumer apps, overseeing growth for products such as Search, Maps and Assistant across India and Southeast Asia, and product marketing manager roles spanning consumer apps and YouTube, where he contributed to launches including YouTube Music, YouTube Originals and YouTube Shorts.
Rastogi began his career in consulting with Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney, before moving into the technology sector. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Alongside his corporate role, he is also an active angel investor, backing early-stage startups in consumer technology and electric mobility across India and Southeast Asia.
As he settles into the new role, Rastogi is betting on a future where every video can double up as a storefront, and where commerce feels less like a transaction and more like a recommendation from a trusted voice.
