MAM
Empowered minds: Women entrepreneurs driving change in India
Mumbai: Amidst the colorful and dynamic realm of Indian entrepreneurship, a formidable force of change and innovation has emerged in the form of women entrepreneurs. Challenging societal norms and breaking barriers, several visionary women have ushered in a new era of inclusivity and diversity, leaving an unforgettable impact on the entrepreneurial landscape. In this feature we are showcasing the achievements of five exceptional women entrepreneurs who with their visionary leadership, innovative startups, and relentless pursuit of excellence have left an indelible mark across various industries, shaping the future of entrepreneurship in India and inspiring a new era of transformation and progress. These women embody the spirit of determination, resilience, and innovation, inspiring generations to break through stereotypes and drive meaningful change.
Nykaa CEO & founder Fallguni Nayar
Falguni Nayar, the founder, and CEO of Nykaa, has revolutionized the beauty and wellness industry in India. Her startup, Nykaa, is an e-commerce platform that offers an extensive range of beauty products and services. Nayar’s vision and entrepreneurial acumen have created a one-stop destination for customers seeking quality beauty products. With a strong online presence and offline retail stores, Nykaa has become a leading brand in the Indian beauty market, empowering customers to explore and enhance their beauty and wellness journeys.
MamaEarth co-founder Ghazal Alagh
Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh is an advocate for eco-friendly living. Mamaearth offers a range of toxin-free and sustainable personal care products for the entire family. Alagh’s commitment to sustainability has garnered Mamaearth a loyal customer base. Her startup’s rapid growth and success reflect the growing importance of conscious consumption and ethical choices in the consumer goods industry. Under Alagh’s leadership, Mamaearth has expanded its product offerings to include a diverse range of eco-friendly alternatives that resonate with environmentally conscious consumers. By leveraging natural and organic ingredients, the brand prioritizes both the well-being of its customers and the planet.
QuoDeck CEO & co-founder Kamalika Bhattacharya
Kamalika Bhattacharya is the CEO, and co-founder of QuoDeck, a B2B SaaS Digital Engagement and Enablement Platform. Her startup, QuoDeck, offers a comprehensive digital training and engagement platform that empowers organizations to create interactive and engaging learning experiences. With a strong passion for utilizing interactivity, games and advanced analytics to achieve meaningful results, she has transformed how organizations interact with and empower their workforce. Having a vast experience of 22 years in working with startups and expertise in securing private equity and venture capital, Kamalika’s journey as an entrepreneur was well-prepared. In 2017, she co-founded QuoDeck, a groundbreaking B2B SaaS platform that has flourished under her guidance.
Thanks to Kamalika’s unwavering commitment to excellence, QuoDeck now serves esteemed Fortune 500 clients from diverse industries. Recognizing the rising demand for mobile-friendly, bite-sized, and engaging content, she has customized QuoDeck’s offerings to drive higher engagement and faster learning outcomes for on-the-go audiences.
Hasura COO & co-founder Rajoshi Ghosh
Hasura COO & co-founder Rajoshi Ghosh is at the forefront of transforming app development in India. Hasura is a leading platform that provides instant GraphQL APIs to developers, enabling them to build, deploy, and scale applications effortlessly. Ghosh’s entrepreneurial vision has made app development more accessible and efficient, empowering developers to create cutting-edge solutions and revolutionize the tech industry. Under Ghosh’s leadership, Hasura has emerged as a trailblazer in the tech space, attracting global recognition and partnership opportunities. Her passion for technology and commitment to developer empowerment have positioned Hasura as a go-to platform for building modern applications.
Pristyn Care co-founder Dr. Garima Sawhney
Pristyn Care co-founder Dr. Garima Sawhney, is revolutionising healthcare in India. Pristyn Care is a healthcare startup that offers specialized and advanced medical treatments across multiple surgical specialties. As a uniform startup, Pristyn Care aims to provide seamless healthcare experiences to patients through a tech-driven platform and standardized procedures. Dr. Sawhney’s entrepreneurial journey reflects her commitment to providing high-quality healthcare services with a focus on patient-centric care and advanced medical practices. With Pristyn Care’s rapid growth and recognition, Dr. Sawhney has become a driving force in transforming the healthcare landscape and empowering patients with accessible and reliable healthcare solutions.
These remarkable women entrepreneurs are leading the way in revolutionizing the tech industry in India.
Brands
Tessolve lands a semiconductor veteran to drive its next big push
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, who started his career at ISRO and has spent 35 years building chips and companies, joins the Bengaluru-based firm as president and chief operating officer
BENGALURU: Tessolve has never been shy about its ambitions. The Bengaluru-based engineering services firm already counts 18 of the world’s top 20 semiconductor companies among its clients, employs more than 3,500 engineers across 12 countries, and last year pocketed a $150m investment from TPG. Now it has hired the executive it believes can turn those assets into something bigger. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, a 35-year semiconductor veteran who once built satellite payloads for ISRO and has since scaled engineering organisations across three continents, joins as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
THE MAN AND THE MANDATE
The appointment is, by any measure, a serious hire. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu comes to Tessolve after senior leadership stints at HCL Technologies, Altran and Wipro, where he managed large profit-and-loss portfolios and oversaw cross-regional teams. Over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in bringing more than 1,000 new products to market across the high-tech, energy and manufacturing verticals. Before the private sector claimed him, he began his working life as a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, contributing to research and development in charge-coupled device technology and satellite payloads, a foundation that shaped everything that followed.
In his new role, he will lead Tessolve’s global growth strategy: expanding its engineering capabilities, deepening customer relationships and accelerating innovation across semiconductor and high-performance computing domains. The brief is broad, but the context is specific. Tessolve operates in the $550 billion global semiconductor market, and its recent moves, the acquisition of Germany’s Dream Chip Technologies and the TPG funding round, have sharpened both its reach and its expectations.
Srini Chinamilli, co-founder and chief executive of Tessolve, is characteristically direct about why Ravi Kumar Chirugudu was the choice:
“As we scale our global semiconductor and system engineering capabilities, Ravi’s appointment marks an important step forward. As global semiconductor demand continues to accelerate across industries, it is creating significant opportunities across the semiconductor lifecycle, from design, packaging, validation and systems integration. Ravi’s deep knowledge and leadership in this ecosystem brings the right mix of industry expertise, customer connect and execution capability, which will play a key role in strengthening our position as a trusted global engineering partner and reinforcing our market leadership.”
THE NEW ARRIVAL SPEAKS
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, for his part, frames the move in terms of timing and culture, two factors that veteran executives tend to weigh as heavily as title or compensation:
“I am happy to join Tessolve at a time when the industry is rapidly evolving towards more complex, AI-driven systems. What stands out to me is its strong people-first culture and its commitment to bringing value to its customers. The strength of its global team, combined with its deep expertise in semiconductor innovation and next-generation product engineering, creates a solid foundation to build differentiated, scalable solutions. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive strategic growth and strengthen its role in shaping the global semiconductor ecosystem.”
The reference to AI-driven systems is not incidental. The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a structural reshaping, driven by the insatiable compute demands of artificial intelligence. For engineering services firms like Tessolve, which offers end-to-end capabilities from silicon design to packaged parts and invests in high-performance computing, high-speed interfaces, photonics and 5G, the moment is both an opportunity and a test. The company says it is well positioned to capture the next wave of industry growth. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu is now the person who has to prove it.
He came in from outer space, literally, and spent three decades learning how the semiconductor industry works from the inside out. Now Tessolve is betting that accumulated knowledge can help it cross the next frontier. In the $550 billion global chip market, the gap between ambition and execution is measured in engineering hours and leadership quality. Tessolve has just gone shopping for both.
