X User Bullies Indian AI Founders, Faces Backlash
A viral tweet targeting two Indian-origin startup founders who secured $61 million funding for their voice AI company Giga has sparked widespread condemnation on social media platform X.
Key Takeaways
- Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, IIT Kharagpur graduates and Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, faced racist bullying over their appearance
- Their company Giga recently secured $61 million in funding and partnerships with DoorDash
- Netizens overwhelmingly defended the founders, calling the attack “insecurity”
Racist Post Goes Viral
The controversial post by user @boneGPT received 34 lakh views and 4,600 likes by November 8. Instead of acknowledging their achievements, the tweet targeted founders Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep for their looks, suggesting they “hire attractive people for the demo” after raising $61 million.
Social Media Backlash
The post received what social media users call a “ratio” – where views far exceed likes, indicating widespread disapproval. One commenter noted: “They have an attractive product, that’s the only thing that matters. You are not using X because Elon Musk is attractive, you are using X because it’s an awesome product.”
Another user responded: “Watch them become millionaires while your groyper ass slaves away for a $12/h job.” A third comment highlighted: “When people can’t compete in brilliance, they attack appearance. That’s not humor that’s insecurity.”
Meet the Founders
Varun Vummadi (CEO) and Esha Manideep (CTO) co-founded voice-based AI systems company Giga, which recently announced $61 million in funding and a partnership with US food delivery platform DoorDash, with plans to scale to other Fortune 100 companies.
Both IIT Kharagpur alumni and 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees made significant career sacrifices to pursue their startup dream. Vummadi turned down a $525,000 package as a quant trader, while Manideep refused a $150,000 role with a high-frequency trading firm.
Founded in 2023, Giga describes itself as “building the next generation of customer support — real-time AI agents that can understand emotion, resolve issues instantly, and scale across the world’s largest enterprises.” The platform supports multiple languages and integrates with existing company systems.
