From 0 to ₹600 Crore Robotics Company | Addverb's Success Story

In this fireside conversation, we sit down with Satish from Addverb to explore his journey from HR at Asian Paints to co-founding one of India’s leading robotics companies. He walks us through his early years, key transitions, and the unexpected path that led him into robotics.

Satish breaks down what made him stand out as a co-founder, how the team executed their vision, and the major challenges of building deep-tech in a capital-intensive industry. He shares how they built stakeholder confidence, won their first two customers, and navigated operations through COVID-19.

We also dive into their international expansion, competing globally, and why robotics still isn’t a popular career choice. Satish reflects on the next decade of the industry, how students can think about future use cases, and the mindset needed to spot meaningful opportunities.

Finally, he shares the early mistakes he'd avoid if he restarted today and what’s next for him as a leader in a rapidly evolving robotics landscape.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - 2:14 - Introduction
2:14 - 9:47 - Career journey from childhood to Robotics
9:47 - 11:00 - Why was he chosen as the cofounder
11:00 - 14:24 - How did Addverb locked in its first few investors
16:30 - 19:19 - Winning the first 2 customers
19:19 - 23:34 - Navigating the early challenges
23:34 - 25:25 - Operations during the pandemic
25:25 - 27:40 - The international expansion journey
27:40 - 35:07 - Barriers to entry in robotics
35:07 - 41:02 - Application of robotics in AI
41:02 - 44:20 - The next decade of Robotics
44:20 - 48:48 - How to think about future use cases
48:48 - 55:37 - Early mistakes I would avoid today
55:37 - 58:59 - What’s next for Satish Shukla as a leader