What started as a small experiment in automation has grown into a far more ambitious vision: building outcome-based AI software for enterprises. My journey began in 11th grade, when I was selling event tickets and saw firsthand how much manual effort went into operations that could have been automated. That early insight stayed with me, and during college, along with my co-founders, I started building what later became Formi. In the early days, we focused on event affiliates and venue operations. The learning curve was steep, but so was the momentum. Within three months of graduating, we raised $165,000, and over time, the business scaled rapidly, eventually crossing ₹200 crore in GMV within a year. That growth validated two things for us: the market was ready for automation, and execution mattered just as much as vision.
Rebuilding as Agentic Universe
As our understanding deepened, so did our ambition. We rebranded from Formi to Agentic Universe to reflect the direction we believe enterprise software is heading. The name represents more than a new identity — it reflects a broader thesis: businesses will increasingly rely on a universe of specialized AI agents to run operations, support customers, and generate revenue with far less human intervention. Our focus today is on niche, high-value enterprise use cases, especially in insurance. We are not trying to be everything for everyone. Instead, we are building for specific workflows where precision, reliability, and measurable business outcomes matter most.
Why Niche Matters?
One of the biggest lessons we have learned is that in enterprise AI, depth beats breadth. Generic AI tools can demonstrate capability, but enterprises need systems they can trust in real-world execution. That means understanding the domain deeply, building strong distribution, and offering end-to-end outcomes rather than isolated actions. That is why we work closely with clients through a consultative approach. Especially in sectors like insurance, we educate stakeholders, run proof-of-concepts, and show how AI agents can improve operations in a controlled and measurable way. Trust is earned through delivery, not claims.
Building Reliable AI
The hardest part of this journey has been making AI reliable enough for enterprise use. It is one thing to build a demo and another to make a system that can operate with consistency, safeguards, and accountability. We have focused heavily on domain-specific guardrails, observability, and learning loops so our agents can take the right actions and improve over time. Our belief is simple: AI systems should be faster, smarter, and more reliable than humans in specific workflows. That is only possible when the process itself is designed to be AI-first and agentic-first, with clear logic, context, and standards embedded into every layer.
Fundraising and Investor Thinking
Our fundraising journey evolved as the company evolved. In the beginning, we worked with institutional investors, but over time we shifted our focus toward angel investors who better understood the opportunity and the long-term direction of the business. Building in AI requires investor patience and conviction, especially when the model is still being educated to the market. We were looking for partners who understood that this is not just about software — it is about rethinking how enterprises run. That requires a different mindset, one that values infrastructure, product depth, and long-term market creation.
The Vision Ahead
Our long-term vision is bold: we want to help companies become one-employee companies by using AI agents to handle large parts of their operations. This is not about replacing people for the sake of efficiency. It is about enabling businesses to scale, reduce costs, and unlock performance that would otherwise be difficult to achieve with traditional staffing models. We see a major opportunity in customer operations and revenue workflows, especially in markets where labor costs, compliance, and scale create operational friction. If AI agents can deliver high outcomes at low cost, the model becomes compelling for enterprises across industries.
Building Together
As co-founders, we have learned that clarity matters more than everything else. Each of us owns our territory based on skill set, accountability, and trust. We say no to the wrong opportunities, stay aligned on the big picture, and give each other room to execute. That balance has been critical to our growth. We believe the future of enterprise AI will be shaped by companies that understand context, standardization, and service quality better than anyone else. If we get that right, we are not just building a product — we are building the operating layer for the next generation of businesses.
Global Ambitions
Our next phase includes international expansion, starting with Singapore and the US. We believe the model we are building has global relevance because every enterprise wants the same thing: reliable systems that improve output and reduce operational complexity. The markets may differ, but the need for scalable automation is universal.
Formi, this is still the same journey that began with selling tickets in school. The scale has changed, the ambition has grown, but the core belief remains the same: if you can automate the right workflows with precision, you can transform how businesses operate.
Interview By : Sejal Thakur
