Episode 5 of The Best Place to Build podcast shares the story of Hyperverge. It started as a student club at IIT Madras and grew into a leading AI company. Hyperverge helps businesses with identity verification while also giving back to society. Their “dual engine” model supports both goals. One engine drives business growth. The other, Hyperverge Academy, trains underprivileged people for tech jobs. Here, we witness how technological innovation can be interwoven with a deep sense of social responsibility. This demonstrates that business success and societal impact can go hand in hand.
Watch the full episode on YouTube or tune in to Spotify!
How Hyperverge began
KV’s journey into AI began in college as part of the Computer Vision Group at IIT Madras. His team initially worked on robotics projects and participated in international competitions. The group realised they wanted to solve real-world problems and started undertaking projects for industry clients.
Their first breakthrough was a project with Southern Railways to improve the inspection of overhead lines using computer vision. This project highlighted the potential of their technology to make a tangible impact on people’s lives.
Hyperverge’s transition from consumer apps to enterprise solutions
At first, Hyperverge focused on consumer apps. They developed a deep learning-based scene recognition engine capable of sorting photos in a user’s gallery. However, the launch of Google Photos made their consumer app unviable. The team then made a conscious decision to pivot to enterprise solutions. This time, focusing on fundamental problems like financial inclusion.
A meeting with Sridhar Vembu, the founder of Zoho, pushed them in this direction. Sridhar Vembu emphasised the importance of building a sustainable business that can create long-term impact. And look how far Hyperverge has come now!
Have you had any such inspiring conversations with any seniors or professors yet?
Hyperverge’s commitment to social impact
Hyperverge Academy provides a six-month boot camp for individuals from underprivileged backgrounds. The program focuses on upskilling participants in essential tech skills and helping them secure jobs in the tech industry. Every employee at Hyperverge contributes to this initiative by mentoring, sponsoring, or building tools to support the learning process.
Did you know that last year, 100 students graduated from the program and secured jobs with a minimum salary of 5 LPA?
The future of Hyperverge
Hyperverge aims to expand its contribution initiatives and help more people achieve financial stability. They will continue developing products that make financial transactions faster, easier, and more trusted, focusing on enduring consumer needs.
If you were to be in KV’s position, how would you wish to grow from here?