Artwork for podcast Prime Venture Partners Podcast
How Can India Build Its Own Global Smartphone Brand? Conversation with Ex-CEO of Realme and Founder of Ai+ | Madhav Sheth
Episode 17715th October 2025 • Prime Venture Partners Podcast • Prime Venture Partners: Early Stage VC Fund
00:00:00 00:33:44

Share Episode

Shownotes

Madhav Sheth, - the driving force behind Realme, now the Founder of Ai+, opens up about the inside world of smartphone wars, the rise (and fall) of Indian brands, and his vision to rebuild from scratch.

🔍 In this episode:

• How Realme rewrote India’s smartphone playbook

• Why most Indian brands couldn’t survive the global onslaught

• The hidden monopoly controlling 60% of the market

• The next revolution: AI-powered smartphones built for India

• Lessons on leadership, innovation, and staying hungry after success


📌 Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

03:00 – Building Realme: From Idea to Global Brand

04:15 – The White Space in India’s Smartphone Market

06:20 – Understanding Indian Consumers: From Price to Value

08:10 – Scaling Through Value, Not Volume

10:00 – The Future: Hardware + Software + AI

12:00 – Why India Missed the Smartphone Opportunity

14:10 – Inside BBK Group: Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus & Realme

16:55 – What Killed Indian Smartphone Brands

19:05 – Inside the Smartphone Monopoly

20:35 – Building NextQ: Madhav’s New Mission

23:00 – Leadership Lessons & Founder Mindset

25:30 – Advice for India’s Next-Gen Tech Founders


🎧 Watch the full episode and discover what’s next for India’s tech future.


#MadhavSheth #Realme #AI #IndiaTech #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Innovation #TechRevolution #MadeInIndia #Smartphones #FounderStories #ScaleUp #BusinessGrowth #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #DigitalIndia #FutureOfTech #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube