Nithin Kamath: 'We use AI' pitch decks get ignored by VCs

Others pushed back. Several argued that investors should audit outcomes rather than judge methods. One user questioned whether Kamath had missed genuinely strong pitches because of the eye roll.

Comparisons to the dot-com era surfaced. One user likened current AI claims to boasting about having a website in the late 1990s.

The debate touches on a broader sentiment shift in technology markets. After two years of hype, VCs are increasingly skeptical of startups that lean on AI as a marketing hook rather than a product advantage. Kamath’s bluntness reflects a pattern: investors want to see actual differentiation, not a buzzword.

“The last thing you want to do is say the exact same generic things as every other founder using the exact same tools,” Kamath wrote.

Kamath co-founded Zerodha, India’s largest retail broker by active clients. His comments carry weight in the Indian startup ecosystem, where Zerodha’s bootstrapped model contrasts with VC-funded peers. He has previously criticized founders for chasing valuation over profitability.

For VCs, the signal is clear: claiming AI is no longer enough. The bar has moved to execution and proprietary data. Founders who cannot articulate what their AI does that a dozen other startups cannot will likely face the same eye roll.