Vertical Velocity
// Dates
August 14, 2025
Applications deadline
September 1, 2025
Program starts
September 29 – October 11, 2025 (includes Caravan ’25)
US Immersion
// Venue
Bay Area
// Entry Fees
The program fee is $1,500
// Format
In-person
// About
What is Vertical Velocity?
Vertical Velocity is a 6-month cross-border program designed for AI-first Indian startups building in healthcare applications. It blends 1:1 mentorship, tactical playbooks, and deep US ecosystem immersion – all designed to unlock product-market fit and revenue across borders.
Founders will also be part of Caravan ’25, scheduled from October 6th – 11th, in the Bay Area.
What makes it different?
- Vertical depth: Focused only on healthcare agent tech applications.
- US-first mindset: Demo Day, roadshows, design partners – all in-market.
- Real mentorship: No fluff. Operators who stay involved post-program.
- On-site immersion: 3 weeks in Silicon Valley & the Caravan ’25 experience
Vertical Velocity is a first-of-its-kind, 6-month cross-border program for AI-first Indian startups building in the healthcare sector.
// Speakers
See all speakers
Abhishek Jha
Co-founder & CEO, Elucidata
Ajay Gupta
Member of Board of Directors , Vizient Inc
Ashish Gupta
Partner, MFV Partners
Brent Lang
Chair of the Board of Directors, Eko Health
Brijraj Bhuptani
Co-founder & CEO, SPRY
Chetan Kulkarni
Advisor, FortyTwo.VC
Dushyant Mishra
Founder & CEO, RapidClaims
Ganesh Shanker
Co-founder & CEO, Responsive
Kanav Hasija
Co-founder & CEO, MeltPlan
Maya Capur
GTM Expert
Melindah Sharma
Managing Director, Manatt Health
Mohit Daswani
Chief Financial Officer, Simple Practice
Rashmi Gopinath
Co-founder & Managing Partner, BAM Corner Point
Robin Singhvi
Head of AI Programs, OneDigital
Samir Palnitkar
Founder, Growth Oxygen
Shashank ND
Founder & CEO, Practo
Vaibhav Agarwal
Founder, ODDBIRD VC
Vijay Anand
Advisor to CEO, NourishedRx
// Program Structure
Pre-Immersion (1 month)
Expectation setting, pitch prep, PMF workshops.
US Immersion (2 weeks)
Post-Immersion (3–6 months)
// What to expect
Warm access to customers and design partners
Curated 1:1 connects with US buyers in your vertical to validate, pitch, and build revenue.
Mentors who stick, not just speak
Each startup gets 2 dedicated mentors (operators or domain leaders) who commit dedicated time over 6 months.
A vertical playbook for global scale
Workshops, expert sessions, and peer reviews – all tailored to your domain, not generic SaaS growth advice.
A founder tribe for the long run
Join a tight-knit crew of 15 AI founders with shared ambition, clarity, and access.
// Who should apply
Welcoming founders with strong domain experience or early US exposure
Full-time and India-based
Building AI-first products for Healthcare
Generating greater than $100K ARR
US visa ready (B1/B2, H1B, etc.)
Open to travel and scaling beyond India
// Volunteers
Aneesh Reddy
Co-Founder & CEO, Capillary Technologies
Anshuman Pandey
Co-founder & CEO, Tune AI
Anubhav Arora
Product Partner Strategy, Salesforce
Avinash Raghava
CEO & Founding Volunteer SaaSBoomi
Dev Khare
Partner, Lightspeed India
Keerthi Madhu
COO, SaaSBoomi
Laxman Papineni
Co-founder & CEO, Outplay
Shivangi Sahu
Fellow, SaaSBoomi
// Our Ecosystem Partners
Platinum
Gold
Financing Partner
Banking Partner
Silver
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a funding program?
No. Fundraising may happen organically, but the focus is US traction and PMF.
Is the US trip funded?
As part of our community support, there is a subsidised program fee of $1500 per founder to participate, which includes all core experiences such as curated workshops, group meals, social events, and VC mixers. Please note that travel and accommodation expenses are the responsibility of individual founders.
When will I need to travel to the US?
You should be in the Bay Area by or before Sep 28, 2025.