IIT Graduates Face Racial Trolling After Securing $61 Million for AI Startup Giga

IIT Kharagpur graduates Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep found themselves targets of racist trolling shortly after announcing their San Francisco-based startup Giga had secured $61 million in funding.

The two entrepreneurs, both Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni, shared a video on X showcasing their voice AI technology, which already partners with DoorDash and is set to expand across Fortune 100 companies.

The announcement highlighted their successful Series A funding round to automate customer operations, with major companies already implementing their AI solutions to enhance customer experience.

Unfortunately, rather than focusing on their technological achievement, several users targeted the founders' appearance, accent, and work. One particularly harsh comment suggested they should "hire attractive people for the demo" despite raising significant capital.

The same critic later complained about being blocked by Varun and proceeded to post additional derogatory comments comparing the founder's appearance across different photographs.

Support for the entrepreneurs quickly emerged in response to the trolling. One defender pointed out, "When people can't compete in brilliance, they attack appearance. That's not humour that's insecurity."

Another supporter highlighted the founders' trajectory toward success, noting critics would continue "slaving away for a $12/h job" while the entrepreneurs become millionaires.

Additional voices emphasized that product quality matters more than appearance: "They have an attractive product, that's the only thing that matters. You are not using X because Elon Musk is attractive, you are using X because it is an awesome product."

Giga, founded in 2023, specializes in developing voice-based AI systems capable of managing real-time conversations for enterprise clients. Their technology can simultaneously speak and chat while handling multiple languages and integrating with large companies' existing systems.

According to Varun's LinkedIn, both founders chose entrepreneurship over lucrative alternatives. Esha declined a $150,000 position at an Indian HFT firm, while Varun turned down both a Stanford PhD offer and a $525,000 quant trader role to pursue their startup vision.