How much of AI is hype? The question has been going around for a few years now. At least, in the context of Unikon.ai, the answer is now clear.

The startup, founded by Aakash Anand in 2024, started out looking to capitalise on the generative AI or GenAI boom, but now after months of burning cash, Unikon.ai is pivoting and will launch a D2C brand instead.

Yes, a startup that wanted to build an AI-powered networking platform is now one of the thousands of D2C brands dotting the market.

Backed by the likes of Nikhil Kamath, Peyush Bansal, Vishesh Khurana and a number of noted angel investors, Unikon.ai’s failure shows just how difficult it is to actually build a product or platform that’s centred around AI.

Anand, a serial entrepreneur who had founded and exited Bella Vita Organic earlier, founded Unikon.ai along with former Zecpe CTO Sumit Jha and Palash Arneja.

The startup raised close to $3 Mn in funding soon after launch, with its pitch of a social media and networking platform powered by GenAI. But it would seem that scaling up an AI-powered LinkedIn alternative proved much costlier than expected, and after months of cash burn, Unikon.ai is ready for an altogether new innings.

Even as GenAI takes most industries by storm, building a startup in this space is about a lot more than just slapping the AI label on. Former and current employees told Inc42 that the company did not seem to have a clear plan when it comes to the GenAI aspect, and soon found itself building another LinkedIn-like platform.

And now that the startup is building a D2C brand, it’s worth understanding what sealed Unikon.ai’s AI fate.

Where Was The AI In Unikon.AI?

“They [Unikon.ai founders] always spoke about quick exits and told the company will be a billion dollar company and how every employee will make money,” a former employee told Inc42.

Like many new startups in the past two years, the startup banked heavily on the AI story and was looking to build a new-age social media and networking platform with 1:1 conversations between users and experts on diverse topics. Besides this, the app provided a personalised content feed for each user.

It’s unclear where exactly the GenAI component fit into this product. It’s entirely possible that this was Unikon.ai’s GTM product with AI features in the pipeline.

As we reported last year, the startup was building something called UniSeek, which helps users post all kinds of queries and seek assistance or even hire professionals. “The platform uses AI and ML-powered algorithms to match queries with the right individuals,” Anand had told us at the time.

He also claimed that the company was addressing the problem of access. “The platform allows anyone to set up rates based on the value of their time. Others on the platform can then reach out to them via video calls, audio calls, or messages, all of which are chargeable, to get their queries or advisory........

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