Indian Government Approves NeXTnet India

Bill and I are very pleased to announce that on Friday, while I was on the 20 hour flight from SFO International to New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the government of National Capital Region (NCR) of India issued us the formal documentation permitting us to set up a legal entity in Gurgaon. Gurgaon is in the heart of the hopping tech hub in the northern part of the country, where you can find every iconic Fortune 500 brand as well as new startups like us, and it's truly exciting to watch a dream come to life!

NeXTnet AI India is a fully owned subsidiary of NeXTnet AI Inc., a Delaware Corporation established in 2024.

The picture you see associated with this blog was taken as I drove from the airport at 3:37 am IST to where I am staying.

A nerve-racking side story – being of Indian origin but an Australian passport holder for decades, I’ve never had problems traveling to India – visas arrive withing 16 hours through a simple online application process (which I diligently start 15-20 days before anticipated date of travel). But this time around, days passed and no visa! I had to call in a favor with a friend (Ro) who introduced me to the Counsel General of India in SFO and finally got the visa only 3 hours before my flight! A special shoutout to Ro and Dr. Reddy, without whose help I would not have been able to make it…. I’m here now and writing this blog in a beautiful and peaceful garden, accompanied only by the sound of peacocks at 6:30 in the morning.

Which brings me to today’s main news items:

• Bill & I are pleased to announce that Mr. Ankit Mann, a resident of India, has joined NeXTnet as our VP of Engineering & Customer Support. Ankit is a talented young lad (38 years old) with an accomplished career at HCLTech and Capgemini Engineering. I will share more in tomorrow’s blog about an exciting new Enterprise production-grade solution that Ankit and his team have developed in record time.

• In addition to being our VP of Engineering & Customer Support, Ankit has also been appointed as Director of NeXTnet AI India. He will be joined by Co-Director Ms. Vandna Sarin.

• Advising our Indian entity and helping us open doors to large clients is Mr. Ravi Gupta, former CEO of Tata Green Batteries and NTL Lemnis, among several Fortune 500 companies where he has held leadership roles. We are honored as a company to have his help and support.

More news to follow. Please stay tuned.