Indian-origin founders of San Francisco-based AI startup Giga, Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, faced a barrage of racist trolling after announcing their $61 million fundraise.

The IIT Kharagpur grads and Forbes 30 Under 30 alums were mocked for their looks, accents, and their product’s link to customer service—prompting swift pushback from supporters who called out the hate. Advertisement

As the duo released a video explaining how Giga’s voice AI operates in live business environments, comments targeting their appearance and Indian accents quickly surfaced online. One viral comment read, “If you raise $61M maybe hire attractive people for the demo,” while others mocked their English and dismissed their innovation as “another call center tech.”

Supporters quickly came to their defense.

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