How I Raised is a webinar series centered around open discussion regarding best practices for raising a Seed round. On a quarterly basis, we invite two or three founders who have successfully raised a round in the past few months and foster an open dialogue around what worked and what didn't.
Panelists:
Manthan Pawar is the Founder & CEO of Destro AI, a robotics AI company developing a shared brain for warehouse robots and intelligent agents. Destro's MothershipOS allows robots from various manufacturers to collaborate seamlessly across complex warehouse and industrial workflows, integrating AI-driven decision-making, simulation, and real-time execution.
With 12+ years of experience in warehouse robotics, Manthan's expertise spans robotics engineering, product management, and enterprise sales. Before launching Destro AI, he served as the founding product manager at HAI Robotics, where he helped establish the Fremont operations, and at Dexterity—both physical AI companies that are now unicorns.
Throughout his career, Manthan has built and deployed over 300 robots for Fortune 500 companies. Through Destro AI, he is committed to making robotics more scalable, adaptable, and intelligent—empowering every robot with one shared brain.
Advait Raykar is Co-Founder & CEO of Elm AI, bringing a rich background in AI and engineering leadership. Originally from India, he earned his master’s degree from Cornell Tech, specializing in the intersection of AI and supply chains. Prior to Elm AI, Advait played a pivotal role at Vernacular.ai (now Skit.ai), where he was the youngest engineering lead and contributed to scaling AI agents, leading to a successful $30M funding round.
Sponsors:
Qapita is a global equity management platform that helps startups and scaleups manage cap tables, employee equity, and investor reporting with clarity and confidence. Trusted by companies from early stage through IPO, Qapita simplifies equity administration across jurisdictions while giving founders, finance teams, and investors a real-time view of ownership.
This event is hosted by nextNYC. To learn more about nextNYC and/or sign up for their newsletter, visit http://next.nyc