Ankiti Bose, who co-founded a fashion technology company called Zilingo in Singapore, has accused Mahesh Murthy of defamation. Mahesh Murthy is a well-known venture capitalist and co-founder of Seedfund. The lawsuit was started because of an article Mahesh wrote in the March 1 issue of Outlook Business magazine, according to people who know about the situation.
Who is Mahesh Murthy?
Mahesh Murthy is an Indian investor, businessman, and marketer who founded a marketing company called Pinstorm. He grew up in a Tamil Brahmin family, and his father was a retired colonel from the Indian Army. Mahesh left Osmania University when he was 17 to study chemical engineering.
After leaving college, Mahesh Murthy started his own cleaning company called Vaclean. He had previously worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman for Eureka Forbes. Later, he worked for advertising firms Grey Advertising and FCB/Ulka in India. He received many awards for his work on behalf of clients like HCL and Network.
Mahesh Murthy founded a company called Pinstorm in 2004. Pinstorm is a digital marketing agency that has offices in Mumbai, Kathmandu, and Amsterdam. The company was one of the first in the world to use performance-based payment promotion.
He started a venture financing firm called Seedfund in 2006 with a partner, which offered funding and advice to startups such as RedBus, CarWale, Chumbak, and Sportskeeda. In 2017, he invested in a company named Exseed Space, which later became Satellize, and helped to launch India’s first privately-owned satellite into space aboard SpaceX, setting a record.
Exseed Space was chosen by ISRO to help assemble and test its large satellites, some of which weighed 2,000 kg or more. They also launched on ISRO’s PSLV rocket. Exseed Space was part of the team that built satellites such as GSAT-30, GSAT-31, and RISAT 1A, all of which were launched in 2021.
Why did Ankiti Bose, the CEO of Zilingo, sue Mahesh Murthy for defamation?
According to some people who know about the situation, Ankiti Bose, the CEO of Zilingo, filed a case against Mahesh Murthy for defamation. The case started because of an article that Mahesh Murthy wrote in the March 1 issue of Outlook Business magazine. He accused Ms. Bose of taking money from a startup without permission. It is said that Ankiti Bose has sued Mahesh Murthy for defamation in the Bombay High Court for $100 million (over Rs 820 crore).