Perplexity Co-Founder Aravind Srinivas-Backed AI Startup Astra Shuts Operations

Just four months after raising funds from Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, AI-focused SaaS startup Astra has shut down.

Co-founder and CEO Supreet Hegde shared the news on LinkedIn, hinting at internal disagreements with fellow co-founder Ranjan Rajagopalan.

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“Despite our best efforts, as co-founders, we found ourselves at different crossroads regarding the pace of growth. It is a challenging decision, but we have chosen to part ways and bring this chapter to a close,” Hegde said.

“Working with larger companies meant navigating lengthy sales cycles, especially as an early-stage startup asking clients to trust us with sensitive data from platforms like Salesforce, G-drive, Slack, and CLM. The current surge of interest and confusion surrounding AI agents added yet another layer of complexity, with many clients unsure of whom to trust or how to evaluate these AI agents,” the CEO added in the post. 

About Astra

Astra, an AI sales startup founded in 2023 by two IIT Madras grads, has shut down just months after raising funds. CEO Supreet Hegde cited a lack of trust from enterprises and too many AI agents causing confusion.

While Hegde hasn't revealed his next move, co-founder Ranjan Rajagopalan has already launched a new stealth startup. Before Astra, Hegde was VP at HyperVerge and Rajagopalan worked with Proshort and google.

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Astra aimed to be the “Chief of Staff” for account executives, helping them close more deals by automating 80% of their tasks. Despite securing two key clients, the product never moved beyond Beta.