GenAI Startup subtl.ai Shuts Shop After Failing To Raise Funds

After raising $200K (INR 1.8 Cr) from a clutch of angel investors, GenAI-focussed enterprise tech startup subtl.ai has shut down. The startup’s web domain has also expired.

On July 3, cofounder and CEO Vishnu Ramesh took to LinkedIn to announce that the startup was in the process of shutting shop due to the inability to raise fresh capital.

“I had made decisions assuming that funding budgets would come in based on conversations I had with a few good funds out of Hyderabad. This became a big reality check for me. There are investors like G Vamshi, Raju Sailesh Sigatapu, Mohit Gulati, Gowri Shankar Nagarajan, that I have so much respect for, but a lot of VCs in our ecosystem just don’t care for founder time,” the cofounder posted.

Launched in 2019, subtl.ai leveraged GenAI to optimise information discovery on the internet for their client enterprises. Its product portfolio comprised knowledge agents that would provide answers and automate tasks like form filling, ticket management and other internal queries with high accuracy.

The startup was founded by Ramesh and IIIT Hyderabad assistant professor Manish Shrivastava, who started the firm with lofty dreams of building a ‘Private Google’ for enterprises.

Two years after its launch, the startup elevated product engineer Sarath Chandra as its third cofounder in 2021. Chandra held the position till December 2023. He later took up the role of a senior product manager at Shift Logistics in February 2024.

Moving forward, Ramesh plans to launch a new venture to offer vertical AI solutions. This time, the BITS Pilani graduate plans to take the role of chief technological officer (CTO).

Inc42 has reached out to Ramesh to fetch more details about his new adventure. We will update this copy once he responds.

In April 2024, Ramesh told us that subtl.ai was in talks to raise a seed funding round of $1 Mn. He had then set his sights on churning $500K Mn in FY25 revenues.

The plans have clearly failed to materialise. The company has clocked a total revenue of INR 55 Lakh since 2020.

The AI startup’s inability to raise fresh funds at an early stage is contrary to industry trends. As per an Inc42 investor survey, more than half of 80+ investors surveyed by the publication, 57% are looking to infuse funds in early stage AI startups in the second half of 2025.

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