100 of India's best AI startups, pitching in San Francisco
.svg){kind=spacer}
26 January 2027
.svg)
San Francisco, California
.webp)
Backed by
THE THESIS
India builds great AI companies.
US capital rarely meets them early.
The best Indian AI founders raise later and smaller than they should, because the pre-seed and seed investors who would back them never see them in person.
Cold outreach gets ignored and big conferences can bury you. There is no room built to put these founders in front of the investors who write first cheques.
AI Startups Demo Day is that room. One day in downtown San Francisco.
THE FORMAT
Fast pitches on stage.
100 pitches across four sectors, all in one afternoon.
90 seconds,
one slide
Every founder gets 90 seconds per pitch and one slide, on a template we give you.
Grouped
by sector
Startups pitch in four themed blocks of 25,
so investors show up for the sectors they actually fund.
Tap to meet
Investors flag the founders they’re excited to meet. We make the introductions, with context, the same week.
Demo Day
rundown
Tuesday, 26 January, 2027
Downtown San Francisco, California
08:30 AM
Registration, welcome coffee & networking
09:30 AM
Pitch slots 1 & 2 · Startups 1–50 (100 mins)
09:45 – 11:25 AM
Pitch slots 1 & 2 · Startups 1–50 (100 mins)
11:25 – 12:30 AM
Lunch & founder networking
12:30 – 14:10 AM
Pitch slots 3 & 4 · Startups 51–100 (100 mins)
14:10 – 17:30 AM
Open founder and investor networking
17:30 AM
Evening reception, drinks & canapés
WHO’S IT FOR
For founders
We take Indian AI startups, pre-seed to Series A, raising now or in the next six months.
An India to US story, usually a Delaware C-corp
Building with AI, live and in the hands of users
Real traction: revenue, users, or fast growth
Founders we pick get pitch prep and travel support to San
Francisco.
Francisco.
For investors
An invite-only room of accredited VCs and angels who write first cheques. We vet everyone before they get in.
Seed funds, micro-funds, and active angels
Cheques from $50K to $2M, into India to US or AI
100 vetted founders in one afternoon, no cold inbound
A curated showcase of vetted founders, not a public solicitation of investment.
Applications and investor invites are open.
Tell us who you are and we will take it from there.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Why Inkle hosts this?
We’re building San Francisco’s first demo day for India’s best AI founders, with a curated room of investors who can fund them, and we’re making it an annual institution.
Inkle runs accounting, tax, and compliance for 1,000+ companies, including 5%+ of YC, and we help Indian founders incorporate in the US as Delaware C-Corps. We already sit at both ends of a founder’s journey, forming the company and then running its books, tax, and compliance as it grows. This event is the step in the middle.
Anand Krishna
Founder & CEO, Inkle
inkle.ai
%20(1).avif)
