Only in Bengaluru: Landlord invests Rs 8 lakh in tenant’s AI startup

(from left to right) Founders of Betterhalf.ai- Rahul Namdev, Pawan Gupta

Amid all the horror stories of renting in Bengaluru that have emerged social media of late, this exchange between a landlord and his tenant stands out as an outlier. Pawan Gupta, the co-founder and CEO of Betterhalf.ai, revealed that his landlord invested $10,000 (Rs 8.2 lakh approximately) in his AI-driven matrimonial app.

Pawan Gupta shared a screenshot of his conversation with his landlord, named Sushil, on Twitter. “I’m investing in you… all the best and hope you reach the greatest of heights,” the landlord told him.

Sushil then confirmed that he had invested $10,000 in the AI startup that Pawan Gupta heads.

“In a tough business landscape, I found an unexpected investor in my landlord,” Gupta wrote while sharing the screenshot. “He recently invested $10K in my startup @betterhalfai. Truly amazed by the entrepreneurial spirit everyone in Bangalore shows. Silicon Valley of India for a reason,” he added.

In a tough business landscape, I found an unexpected investor in my landlord. He recently invested $10K in my startup @betterhalfai. Truly amazed by the entrepreneurial spirit everyone in Bangalore shows. Silicon Valley of India for a reason. #peakbengalurumoment pic.twitter.com/IfzUn0lPkl

— Pawan Gupta (@pguptasloan) June 2, 2023

Y Combinator-backed Betterhalf.ai had raised $3 million in Pre-Series A round back in 2021. The startup was a participant in the Y Combinator W21 batch and the funding saw the participation of venture capital firms such as S2 Capital and Quiet Capital and marquee angel investors Kunal Shah and Samvit Ramadurgam.

The startup also raised $8.5 million in its Series A round of funding from FinSight Ventures, Rebel Fund and Nurture Ventures, Inc42 reported.