Keshav Reddy

Built Airports Before, Now Building in Identity 🇮🇳 @equaldotin

[Sid Jain @TheBengaluruGuy]

There's a new app going viral in India and I'm genuinely impressed.

Equal AI: an AI-driven spam call blocker that actually picks up unknown calls FOR you.

Here's how it works:

→ AI answers unknown calls on your behalf
→ Shows you the live conversation in real-time
→ You decide: jump in, give instructions, or let AI handle it
→ Get a summary + audio recording after every call
The UX is slick. Delivery guy calling? AI tells you who it is and why. Spam? Never reaches you.!!

And the GTM playbook is classic India:

Amazing freemium plan. Premium features gated. Land with free, convert with value.

(I'm guessing ads will follow because it's the inevitable business model for consumer apps here.)

But what I find most interesting: this is exactly the kind of AI agent use case that wins.

Not chatbots. Not copilots. An agent that handles a real, annoying problem without you lifting a finger.

More of this please.!

Funfact: Truecaller has 70%+ revenue from India (they have 450M+ MAU). I am a Truecaller paid user and will jump to equal AI once I'm in India.!

Another funfact: The founder of this app comes from a corporate family that's worth >$5-6B

[Manu Kumar Jain @manukumarjain]

How can India become an #AI superpower? 🚀

Had a great time attending and speaking at the #IGF NXT 25 conference. Enjoyed insightful conversations with my fellow panellists Keshav (Equal AI) and Vishal (Columbia University) on how to catapult India into an AI hub.

I personally believe that the time has come for India to think of a dedicated #AI #ministry, to leapfrog in this ‘techade’.

This is truly India’s time to shape the world order.

@IGFupdates #ArtificialIntelligence #G42 #AIForAll #ManuJain

[ETtech @ETtech]

@Nouriel Startups Panel at #ETWLF

Catalysts of Change: crafting the future through startups

@ngoel , @mariakatris and Equal's Keshav Reddy in conversation with @ARaiET

https://t.co/yJOnuO7lgb

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

HONORED 🇮🇳

Spoke at this amazing event today and it was special because it was about Indias leading place in the world 🇮🇳 & it's most innovative India Stack!

Thank you @EconomicTimes Young Leaders Forum for inviting me and this massive success 🔥 @satyan

@VinodMahantaET @sruthijith

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Life advice to the young, wild & inspired 🪽

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

I am honored to have been the commencement speaker at my alma mater The International School Bangalore (TISB) for the graduating class of 2024. Please see my speech:

https://t.co/000z1nHMiQ

[Mint @livemint]

#MintDIS2024 | Unveiling the stellar lineup of eminent speakers at the Mint Digital Innovation Summit 2024! Get ready to be inspired by industry leaders who will share their insights on navigating and thriving in the digital landscape.

Register here: https://t.co/2bxHfu1rbt

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Grateful for our FM @nsitharaman Ji's proposal of Uniform KYC for the BFSI sector in India! This move will undoubtedly simplify the lives of Indians in their daily routines. At @equaldotin, we are committed to Powering Identity for 100M Indians.

Check out my views in @EconomicTimes Wealth article on the topic: https://t.co/OfzwTH6rfC. Thank you @anulekha_ray ! Do share thoughts.

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

ENTREPRENEUR // Excited to be recognised as Entrepreneur India’s 35 Under 35 Class of 2024, really grateful 🚀🇮🇳🌟 Love my nickname “Identity Builder” 🦄😍🙌🏻

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Aragen is a Great Place To Work for the 5th Year in a row 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 One of the only Indian pharmaceutical company to achieve this feat 🚀🚀🚀

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Thrive /// To grow, develop & become successful 💫💫💫

My habits plan for 2024 to thrive:

1. 30 Min Meetings - My 8-8 work schedule is now broken into 30 minute meeting slots and I do upto 16 decision meetings daily 🙌🏻 (Learning from the best Elon Musk)

2. Ten Mantras - I follow and read my 10 mantras daily to enable my long term goals in the short term 🚀 (started it with my buddy Manish Parikh)

3. 10-Min Transcendental Meditation - Every morning this 10 minutes is my time to balance my crazy hectic days 📿 (Thank you my brother Aditya Khilnani)

4. Workout Daily - Physical Fitness is critical in reaching the ultimate hustle 🏋️ (Thank you Deekshith Reddy)

5. No Phone Time - Post work hours, I leave my phone aside for family time 🤍 Feels the best

What are your habits to thrive? 💯 Please share 🫶🏻

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Together we're faster 🙌🏻

2023 was filled with Insane amount of work. The 5-screen setup brought me insane amount of efficiency 💼

Excited for more speed in 2024 🚀

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Goal is to win a medal at Paris 2024. So many inspiring indians.

[Equal @equaldotin]

(3/3) “If you start to imagine what things will be like when you win an Olympic medal, you'll create pressure for yourself. So, I don’t focus on that when I’m training or at a competition. My focus is always on performing well and giving my best. I want to tell young athletes that, and also that they should dedicate many years to their respective sports and not lose hope early on. Have discipline and keep training.

The government is doing a lot for young athletes now—providing them with equipment, a proper training plan, the funding they need, and the option to train abroad if they need to. The country’s performance has significantly improved because of this. The motto for the Asian Games was ‘Ab ki baar sau paar’, and we secured a hundred medals, both at the Asian Games and Asian Para Games.

I’m grateful to the honourable Prime Minister, Narendra Modiji, for prioritising sports and changing the perspective around sports so much that so many more kids are participating now and performing well.

The government has appreciated my achievements, too, and given me five national awards—the Arjuna Award, Padma Shri, Sportsperson of the Year - Para, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Padma Bhushan. I was the first para-athlete to win a Padma Bhushan, which is an achievement in itself, and such recognition gives hope and courage to other differently-abled athletes.

I must admit, though, I have one tiny weakness. Whenever I win a medal or award, the joy that should come with it—I don’t think I experience it to the extent I should. But when something bad happens, I don’t get too sad either. I live a medium sort of life.

Achha ho jaaye toh bahut achhi baat hai par bura ho gaya toh koi baat nahi.”

– Devendra Jhajharia (@DevJhajharia), 42, on the pressures of the Paralympics and the future of sports in India.

We, at Equal, believe that your identity goes way beyond your ID. While we manage the first two letters for you, welcome to a page where you can speak about the rest.

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Javelin is his identity

[Equal @equaldotin]

(2/3) “I think access to sports and equipment is important, but what’s more important is having access to opportunities. You won’t be able to display your talent if you don’t have the opportunity.

I started with a javelin I’d made myself and later competed with an aluminium javelin primarily used for training. It cost three to four hundred rupees, but it was an upgrade. Over time and competitions, I got one that cost four thousand rupees or so, and when an NRI watched me perform, he gifted me a javelin worth one lakh rupees. That’s when I realised the importance of opportunities.

Even at school, my teachers used to think I was making excuses to skip classes when I wanted to practise. They thought I couldn’t play because I was differently-abled but the one thing I’ve learnt in life is to fight. I don’t mind losing, but I’ll never stop fighting.

At Athens, in 2004, I was representing India and was the captain. I had this drive to win a gold medal. I didn’t just win gold, but I also broke the world record. I made history.

To go back twelve years later in 2016—a lot can change in twelve years—and win gold again at the Rio Paralympics, and break my own world record was unbelievable. I made history again.

I broke my record a third time in Tokyo but got silver only because the Sri Lankan athlete beat my record.

My only goal right now is to win a medal in Paris in 2024.”

– Devendra Jhajharia (@DevJhajharia), 42, on access to opportunities and making the most of them.

We, at Equal, believe that your identity goes way beyond your ID. While we manage the first two letters for you, welcome to a page where you can speak about the rest.

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Meet Devendra. 3 time Paralympics winner. Inspiring Indian 🇮🇳

[Equal @equaldotin]

(1/3) “If you ask someone what they love the most in the world, they might say they love their mom and dad, someone might say they love their spouse the most, someone else might say their kids, but I can easily say that if there’s something I love the most in this world, it’s the javelin. Javelin is my life.

I was born in a small village in the Churu district of Rajasthan. I’d wake up early in the morning, do my training, run five kilometres to my school—it was a government school—then rush back to train again. That’s been a small struggle in my life.

I was competing at the state level while I was still in school. People would say things like, ‘Oh, he’s differently-abled. How will he play with the general kids?’ And when I’d win medals, the same people would be shocked. People demoralise you at first and then support you later when you win.

When I got that electric shock at nine, mummy papa pushed me to get out of the house and play with other kids. I was sitting with my mother after I’d won gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, and I told her, ‘Shaayad aap uss din mujhe ground mein nahi bhejti toh mere khayaal se aaj yeh double Paralympic medal nahi aate.’ She said, ‘Mujhe toh nahi pata Olympic kya hota hai uss time. Main toh yeh dekhna chahti thi ki mera beta aur bachhon se peechhe na rahe.’

Most parents dream of their kids becoming engineers and doctors. My parents, Shri Ram Singhji and Jivani Devi dreamt I’d become a sportsperson.”

– Devendra Jhajharia (@DevJhajharia), 42, on his love for the javelin.

We, at Equal, believe that your identity goes way beyond your ID. While we manage the first two letters for you, welcome to a page where you can speak about the rest.

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Welcome aboard Jr. Captain Krish 🛩️ Sweet gesture @IndiGo6E

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

Do you like playing an instrument?

[Equal @equaldotin]

“I tried the tabla and gave it up. I tried the keyboard and gave that up too. Then, a friend gifted me a guitar, and I realised I was good at string instruments, but it felt like a lot, picking up a guitar after I came back home from work at nine or so. So, my friend gifted me a ukulele, and that stuck.

It’s easy to play the uke, less technical, more forgiving, sounds beautiful, and you can take it wherever you go. I learnt to play acoustic versions of every song I love and added my own twist to the songs. I play for friends and family at get-togethers or for strangers at hostels on trips, but I always wait for them to be the right amount of drunk so they’ll enjoy it more.

I can connect with people through music. I think I have something in common with everyone. I was on a trip with a friend and didn’t quite know the other four members who were travelling with us, but I became the DJ on that trip—the go-to person for any kind of music people wanted to listen to.

I think I’m an average musician, but I could be a pretty cool DJ. Wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

– Medha Shubhangi, 27, on playing the ukulele and connecting with people over music.

We, at Equal, believe that your identity goes way beyond your ID. While we manage the first two letters for you, welcome to a page where you can speak about the rest.

[Keshav Reddy @gvkjunior]

What an inspiring story of Sharad and The Shuttr Project 🤍🫶🏼 They run a non-profit making India beautiful through street art 🎨🎨🎨 Must Read & Share!

[Equal @equaldotin]

“In 2017, when I was between jobs, I took a short trip to Pushkar. I was at a cafe, and there was this blank red wall that just did something to me inside. I wanted to paint it. The cafe owner liked the idea. I went around Pushkar, doodled what I saw, showed it to the owner, who liked it, and I painted the red wall.

Eventually, I started The Shttr Project as a nonprofit. I noticed that marketplaces which are so crowded during the day are ignored and often spat on at night.

I spoke to some of the shopkeepers in Delhi, told them I wanted to clean their shutters and paint them. They were very open to it. The first time, I was nervous about whether I would even get volunteers, but there were art enthusiasts who wanted to selflessly beautify the spaces around them. That too on a Friday or Saturday night when they could go party instead.

As we were working on our first project, the cops showed up. I told them we were painting, turning the space into something people would respect and treat like their own. You won’t believe it, the cops gave me their number. Said, ‘If there's any issue, give us a call.’ I had the phone number of a Delhi policeman! Fifteen minutes later, they returned and actually gave us bottles of water. Goosebumps!

People have stood and watched us work. Two boys who were rappers even created a video while we were working. A man once came up and asked what we were up to. Then, in the morning, just about when we were done, he brought his kid to show him our work and the importance of doing something so selflessly. That was very touching.

My personal goal, though, is to take an abandoned village and paint the entire place. Breathe life into it. Make it a place people will want to live in once again.”

– Sharad Dhuliya, 30, on his favourite thing to do on the weekends, create street art.

We, at Equal, believe that your identity goes way beyond your ID. While we manage the first two letters for you, welcome to a page where you can speak about the rest.