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Founders, not fairytales ‘startups uncensored’ gets real in Mumbai
MUMBAI: Forget the pitch decks and unicorn parades this weekend, Mumbai will hear the stories behind the startup smiles. In a refreshing break from the usual glitz of venture talk, Adgcraft Communications and HIVE8 are launching the first edition of ‘Startups Uncensored’ on Saturday, May 17, at India’s tallest co-working space in Mumbai. This bold new forum invites founders, investors, and startup insiders to talk not about valuations but vulnerabilities.
At the heart of the session is a stellar panel: Ajinkya Bhasme (Zealopia), Arjun Vaidya (V3 Ventures), and Rahul Adap (Brovibe), with moderation by Yash Gadhade from Break Into VC and Volt VC. The conversation will delve into the psychological grind of entrepreneurship burnout, team conflict, decision fatigue, and the unsaid pressure to always ‘look successful’.
It’s a necessary pivot. Recent data reveals that 68 per cent of Indian entrepreneurs report high stress, and over 30 per cent of startup failures are attributed not to market fit or funding drought but to co-founder fallouts and founder burnout.
“In the global startup narrative, storytelling and effective communication are paramount. At Adgcraft, we’ve seen that startups with compelling stories not only attract investors but also build meaningful relationships with their audience. This session is about underlining that narrative,” said Adgcraft Communications founder & MD Abhinay Kumar Singh.
“Beyond capital, startups need resilience, clarity, and a cohesive team. This session brings those unspoken truths to the surface, helping founders learn from each other’s lived experiences,” added Brovibe founder, Rahul Adap.
“After working with countless founders, one truth stands out startups don’t fail because of bad ideas alone. They fail in the silence between co-founders, in unspoken stress, and in the pressure to appear successful. ‘Startups Uncensored’ is a space for honesty, vulnerability, and growth,” said Break Into VC founder, Himanshu Jain.
Through unfiltered dialogue and real-life reflection, ‘Startups Uncensored’ aims to become a rare space one that acknowledges the struggle behind the spotlight, and helps entrepreneurs build not just businesses, but balance.
No decks. No jargon. Just raw stories from the real startup trenches.
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Google nears Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
Market cap gap narrows as Google hits $4.65 trillion, Nvidia at $4.86 trillion.
MUMBAI: In the AI gold rush, even the giants are sprinting and Google is suddenly gaining ground. Google is rapidly closing in on Nvidia in the race to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, with the gap between the two narrowing sharply amid diverging stock momentum. The tech giant’s market capitalisation has surged to around $4.65 trillion, following a more than 140 per cent rise in its share price over the past year.
That rally has added over $2.6 trillion in value in just 12 months, including nearly $900 billion since January alone. Its stock recently hovered at $381.80, slipping marginally by 0.04 per cent, but still reflecting strong upward momentum.
Nvidia, meanwhile, continues to hold the top spot with a valuation of approximately $4.86 trillion. The chipmaker crossed the $5 trillion milestone in October last year and peaked at $5.27 trillion on 27 April. However, its shares have largely plateaued over the past six months, rising just 0.2 per cent recently to $199.99.
The contrast in trajectories is striking. While Nvidia has seen relatively flat movement, Google has gained over 36 per cent in the same six-month period. Barron’s estimates suggest that if current trends hold, the valuation gap could shrink to as little as $190 million by the time Nvidia reports its first-quarter earnings on 20 May.
Daily momentum paints a similar picture. Nvidia recorded average daily gains of about 0.66 per cent last month, compared to Google’s stronger 1.42 per cent, an edge that could prove decisive in the short term.
Driving Google’s resurgence is its aggressive push into artificial intelligence across its ecosystem, from search and YouTube to cloud computing. The company has already invested $144 billion in capital expenditure over the past two years and plans to deploy a further $490 billion over the next two.
Its cloud division is also gathering pace. Google Cloud reported an order backlog of nearly $220 billion in the latest quarter, with total backlog touching a record $462 billion, around half of which is expected to be realised within two years. The company’s entry into chip sales is also beginning to factor into its growth narrative.
The last time Google briefly topped the S&P 500 by market value was in February 2016, when it edged past Apple for just two days. This time, the stakes and the numbers are far higher.
At the heart of the contest lies a single force: artificial intelligence. As both companies pour billions into infrastructure, chips and platforms, the leaderboard is no longer just about size, it is about who can scale the future faster.
