2 weeks ago
Nithin Kamath: AI Is Table Stakes, Not a Pitch Differentiator
A very successful businessman named Nithin Kamath helps run a company called Zerodha.
He looks at lots of letters from new companies asking for money, called investment decks.
Many of these letters start by saying 'we use AI.'
AI means smart computer technology that can do amazing things.
Mr. Kamath says almost every company uses AI now, so saying you use it is not special anymore.
He said bragging about AI is like bragging that you take a bath every day.
He thinks starting a letter that way makes serious investors ignore you.
He wants founders to explain what real problems they solve and how they do it better than others.
Some people agreed with him and said AI is just a basic tool now.
Other people said AI is still exciting when it lets a company do something new that was impossible before.
Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath said the number of investment decks leading with 'we use AI' is 'ridiculous' and makes his eyes roll.
Kamath called AI 'just table stakes now,' comparing bragging about AI to bragging that you take a bath every day.
He warned that opening a pitch with AI is a 'surefire way to get ignored' by his firm and by most serious VCs.
Kamath said AI has democratized the ability to generate 'nice-looking' decks and urged founders to answer why AI, manage security risk, continuously evaluate high-stakes decisions, and know their workflow, exceptions, and RACI.
Social media reaction was divided: founders agreed AI is becoming infrastructure, some compared 'we use AI' to 'we have a website,' and one user called AI 'the biggest scam ever in the world.'
- Who
- Nithin Kamath, co-founder/CEO of Zerodha, along with startup founders and social media users who reacted to his post.
- What
- Kamath criticized startup pitch decks that lead with 'we use AI,' calling AI 'just table stakes' and a 'surefire way to get ignored' by serious investors.
- Where
- Online social media — one article reports the post on X; another reports it as a LinkedIn post.
- When
- Date not specified in the articles.
- Why
- Because AI has become a standard, generic tool available to everyone, so leading with it no longer differentiates a startup and instead turns off serious VCs.
AI Hype Skeptics
AI Infrastructure Believers
Value of AI in startup pitches
AI Hype Skeptics
Kamath and agreeing founders say leading with 'we use AI' is table stakes and a surefire way to be ignored, since all founders use the same generic tools.
AI Infrastructure Believers
Some commenters say the interesting part of AI is what it lets a startup do that wasn't possible before, and investors should hear about outcomes rather than the tool used.
Dismissing AI-led pitch decks
AI Hype Skeptics
Kamath said AI-led openings make his eyes roll and that he has almost stopped looking at such decks; most serious VCs would ignore them too.
AI Infrastructure Believers
Critics questioned whether he may have missed genuinely good pitches because of the eye roll, arguing investors should audit outcomes rather than judge the methods used.
Is AI hype a bubble?
AI Hype Skeptics
One user called AI 'the biggest scam ever in the world' and 'trillion dollars worth of fraud,' and some said the reaction signals the AI hype bubble bursting.
AI Infrastructure Believers
Founders argued AI is becoming infrastructure, not the product — users don't pay for AI, they pay for outcomes — and real differentiation comes from proprietary workflows, data, and execution.
Key facts
- Speaker
- Nithin Kamath
- Role
- Co-founder and CEO, Zerodha
- Platform
- Reports differ: X (Twitter) per one article; LinkedIn per another
- Core claim
- AI is just table stakes now
- Key quote
- Bragging that your product uses AI is like bragging that you take a bath every day
- Follow-up questions
- Why AI? How do you manage security risk? Continuous evaluation of high-stakes decisions; know your workflow, exceptions, and RACI
- Social media reaction
- Mixed — some agreed; one user called AI 'the biggest scam ever in the world' and 'trillion dollars worth of fraud'
- Comparison used
- 'We use AI' compared to 'we have a website'
Quotes
Anonymous Twitter user
Social media commenter
“"AI is a steaming pile of sh*t which just smells good enough, but no one wants to taste it. AI is the biggest scam ever in the world. Trillion dollars worth of fraud."”
livemint.com
“AI has become infrastructure, not the product. The real differentiator is solving a painful problem with proprietary workflows, data, and execution.”
livemint.com
Nithin Kamath
CEO of Zerodha and venture capitalist
“"Bragging that your product uses AI is like bragging that you take a bath every day. It’s not a differentiator. In fact, opening your pitch with it is a surefire way to get ignored, not just by us, but by most serious VCs."”
livemint.com
“AI is just table stakes now, and opening your pitch with it is a surefire way to get ignored.”
livemint.com
Sources
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