<p>"WTF is" is a podcast series where Nikhil Kamath hosts friends and industry experts and holds casual yet intellectually stimulating conversations. The podcast covers a broad range of topics of particular current relevance, including technology, social media, renewable energy, electric vehicles, philosophy, gaming, psychology and more.</p>

WTF is with Nikhil Kamath

I put the two companies most Indian holidays run through into one room, Rajesh Magow who co-founded MakeMyTrip and Puneet Chhatwal who runs IHCL, the company behind Taj, and what began as friendly needling over whose business is bigger and more profitable turned into the one question I couldn't let go of, why a country with this much coastline, culture and history gets barely ten million foreign visitors a year and what it would actually take to make that a hundred million, which pulled us through OYO's pivot, whether India's problem is marketing or the product itself, why tourism gets half a percent of GDP when every rupee spent on it comes back three times over, where the next Goa is, and the line that stayed with me, that India has become a great country to travel from and not the best country to travel to. Full episode drops soon.


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th

India Is A Great Country To Travel From, Not To | WTF is Travel? | Trailer

I went to Dalian with a selfish question. I run a fund that invests in energy transition, and I've come to think energy isn't the problem moving it and storing it is. So I sat down with Henning Rath, who runs EnerVenue out of Silicon Valley and is building his first gigafactory in Changzhou, and Tang Kun, who runs HiNa Battery, a sodium-ion company spun out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that's now ten years old with 600 people and a gigawatt line. I told them I don't know anything about batteries and asked them to teach me. We started at what a cell even is, went through why the entire industry standardised on LFP and what a thermal runaway actually does, and then Henning told me something I hadn't heard: the world had over 14,000 LFP fires last year alone. I asked whether I should start an electric car company or a battery company when I get home. Both said battery and Henning was blunt about it: don't build anything that needs rare earth. Fifty million dollars to start. We got into nickel-hydrogen at 30,000 cycles, sodium carbonate at a tenth of what lithium carbonate costs, why solid state is still at level four out of nine, and the idea I keep coming back to that your car sits idle 98% of the time with a battery and a stack of chips doing nothing, and there's a version of this where every parked car is a micro data center.


00:00 Introduction
06:45 China's bet on chemistries beyond lithium
12:14 Cell chemistry and the trade-offs it forces
17:15 Thermal runaway and the limits of LFP
22:44 Production quality and how long a battery lasts
27:07 Why China won the electric car
33:54 Decoupling a battery business from lithium and rare earths
38:50 Sodium's cost advantage and its energy density ceiling
43:51 Recycling nickel and renting the metal
48:17 Where generation, storage and demand should sit
54:05 Decentralization and the car as a grid battery
1:00:19 Three super cycles and AI's power demand
1:05:30 Automation, jobs and China's social contract


Footage Courtesy: World Economic Forum (WEF) CC BY-NC-ND 4.0


Source: https://www.weforum.org/videos/amnc26_summer_davos_highlights/


Henning Rath, Chief Executive Officer at EnerVenue

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henning-rath/



Kun Tang, Executive Chairman of HiNa Battery

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kun-tang-52a52327/


Nikhil Kamath-Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas
Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast

Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th


#WTFareBatteries #EnerVenue #HiNaBattery #SummerDavos

The Battery Everyone Uses Is The One They'd Never Build | EnerVenue x HiNa | WTF are Batteries?

I went into this wanting one answer, if I were starting something today, should it be an electric car company or a battery company and what I got back was narrower and more useful than I expected: don't build the thing that needs rare earth. We got into why sodium carbonate sits at roughly a tenth of what the equivalent lithium inputs cost, what $50 million actually buys you if you're starting this from scratch, why the world saw over 14,000 LFP fires last year alone and what that says about the chemistry everyone standardised on, and the part I keep coming back to that your car is parked 98% of the time in front of your house, and there's a version of this where that's not a dead asset but a micro data center. Every car a token factory. I didn't see that coming.


Henning Rath, Chief Executive Officer at EnerVenue

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henning-rath/
Kun Tang, Executive Chairman of HiNa Battery
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kun-tang-52a52327/


Footage Source: BYD footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0oMa2jWXaM
Tesla footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50PU-cQx7j0


Nikhil Kamath-Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas
Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast

Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th


#WTFareBatteries #EnerVenue #HiNaBattery #SummerDavos

Why The Next Battery Won't Need Lithium Or Rare Earth | Nikhil Kamath | WTF Is A Battery

The street believes struggle makes the founder, so we removed the struggle — twenty-five strangers, a brand and four crores each, ninety days in one house in Alibaug and then sat down to ask the only question that scared us: does a head start make a founder, or unmake one? Nikhil Kamath, Kishore Biyani and Ronnie Screwvala audit the model, the equity split everyone questions, the two philosophies built into this house, and what the three of us will do if twenty brands don't sell.


00:00 Introduction
06:18 Is The Foundery a selfish bet?
12:29 Why building new beats the capitalist high
18:28 How the company-builder model formed
24:47 The new consumer categories driving the bets
30:41 What happens after Day 90
35:13 The equity split everyone questions: 25% vs 75%
43:11 Where the ideas come from, and how the gates work
50:56 Founder–idea fit and the flaws each founder owns
58:05 Why equity beats an endorsement fee
1:05:14 What happens if the brands fail
1:11:08 What actually drives Nikhil
1:17:46 Abundance vs scarcity in one house
1:23:54 Social mobility and India's bubbles
1:28:54 What the founders are unlearning
1:33:09 Twelve months out: what they'd change


#NikhilKamath
Co-Founder of Zerodha and Gruhas
Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF'

Twitter: @nikhilkamathcio on X
Instagram: @nikhilkamathcio on Instagram
LinkedIn: Nikhil Kamath LinkedIn
Facebook: Nikhil Kamath Facebook


The Foundery is a venture builder that forges entrepreneurs into co-founders and builds companies with them from the ground up.

Website: The Foundery
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCtJssM5FzLXSWIf5VWUmT2w 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jointhefoundery/?hl=en


Kishore Biyani – Founder & CEO of Future Group


Ronnie Screwvala – Co-Founder & Chairperson of upGrad, Founder of UTV Group

LinkedIn: Ronnie Screwvala LinkedIn


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify
WTF is Podcast on Spotify


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify
People by WTF Podcast on Spotify


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify
WTF Online on Spotify


#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline

Abundance vs Scarcity: We Built 20 Brands With 30 Strangers In 90 Days | The Foundery

So we ran an experiment. We call it The Foundery. Sixty days ago, twenty-five people we'd never met moved into a house in Alibaug — each one handed a new-age consumer brand, four crores, and ninety days to build a real business with us. Not a college, not an accelerator: a place where we become your co-founders and build the company alongside you. In this first conversation, Nikhil Kamath, Kishore Biyani and Ronnie Screwvala get into why we built it, what we're risking, and what happens if none of it works.


#nikhilkamath Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas
Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast

Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/


The Foundery is a venture builder that forges entrepreneurs into co-founders and builds companies with them from the ground up.

Website: https://www.thefoundery.in/


Kishore Biyani – Founder & CEO of Future Group


Ronnie Screwvala – Co-Founder & Chairperson of upGrad, Founder of UTV Group

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronniescrewvala/


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th


#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline

We Gave 25 Strangers ₹4 Crore Each To Build 20 New Brands | The Foundery

I got two of the biggest names in Indian pharma into one room, Rajeev Juneja of Mankind and GV Prasad of Dr. Reddy's, who'd somehow never actually met before this, and what came out was part masterclass and part origin story, from why being relentlessly contrarian beat following the herd, to how a college dropout from Meerut turned everything he hated about a medical store into a pharma giant, to why a chemical engineer who says he owes his career to his marriage spent decades chasing one original molecule, and somewhere in between we got into why India makes the world's generics instead of discovering its own drugs, what it really takes in time and money to bring a single drug to market, why GV thinks the AI-will-cure-everything story is overstated, where GLP-1s go next, and the one thing they'd tell a 25-year-old trying to build in pharma.


Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
04:27 Rajeev Juneja's path from medical-store apprentice to building Mankind
10:11 Mankind's contrarian OTC and bottom-up market strategy
16:23 G.V. Prasad on science and the Dr. Reddy's lineage
23:06 Segmenting the industry and how generic drugs are made
29:15 Why drug purity standards are shared but enforcement differs
36:40 Why India is the pharmacy of the world by volume, not revenue
41:00 How margins are split across the pharma value chain
45:17 Whether online pharmacy and consumer brands are real openings
53:15 Whether hospital roll-up valuations are justified
59:10 Tariffs, Jan Aushadhi and drug price controls
1:03:21 How China built a pharma-innovation ecosystem in a decade
1:10:02 Long-horizon governance and removing entrepreneurial fear
1:15:40 China's incentives, talent and leverage over the US
1:22:01 Why the Ayush and wellness market outgrows pharma
1:25:05 The evidence, quality and standardisation debate around Ayurveda
1:35:13 The sexual-wellness opportunity and the stigma problem
1:40:26 The fertility, IVF and egg-freezing opportunity
1:43:45 The API narrative debate and how a drug is synthesised
1:50:54 Biologics, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines explained
1:55:57 Stem cells and peptides, separating therapy from hype
2:00:06 The semaglutide story and how GLP-1 works
2:05:01 Mankind's ethical-selling philosophy on GLP-1
2:08:06 Why India leads in small molecules but lags in biologics
2:15:07 Where a young founder can enter the GLP-1 wave
2:23:38 The yin and yang of innovators and generics
2:29:05 Diagnostics, CDMO and the China-plus-one opportunity
2:37:18 Applying AI to pharma and the expired-medicine problem
2:43:01 Why founders should never copy a set formula
2:45:30 Succession, home diagnostics and the microfluidics frontier
   
#nikhilkamath Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas 
Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast 

Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/


Rajeev Juneja-Vice Chairman & Managing Director at Mankind Pharma Ltd

LinkedIN- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeev-juneja-27882a24b/


G.V Prasad Reddy-MD & Co-Chairman at Dr. Reddy's

Linkedin-https://www.linkedin.com/in/gvprasadster/


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify 
https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify 
https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify 
https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th


#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline

Why One New Drug Takes Ten Years To Make | Mankind x Dr. Reddy's | WTF is Pharma?

I always assumed India was becoming the pharmacy of the world, until this conversation made me sit with the sharper truth that we're the generic pharmacy of the world, and from there we got into whether China really killed our API industry or whether Indians still quietly lead it, why a drug like semaglutide turns into a miracle and a problem the second everyone wants it, the side effects nobody wants to talk about, the ethics of running a prescription-driven business, whether the global enthusiasm around Indian hospitals is actually justified, and why fear might be the single biggest thing holding Indian entrepreneurship back.


#nikhilkamath Co-founder of Zerodha and Gruhas
Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast

Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/


Rajeev Juneja-Vice Chairman & Managing Director at Mankind Pharma Ltd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeev-juneja-27882a24b/


G.V Prasad Reddy-MD & Co-Chairman at Dr. Reddy's

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gvprasadster/


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn


Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59


Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify
https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th


#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline

Generics, Ozempic & The Fear Holding India Back | WTF is Pharma? | Trailer

Spent a few hours with young bright founders below the age of 25 from the 3rd WTFund cohort. WTFund is a non-dilutive ₹20 lakh grant. From over 3,000 applications, we shortlisted 8 startups. We spoke about what they’re building, but also about doubt, ambition, money, and the uncertainty that comes with starting early. Some clear ideas. Some unfinished thoughts. A conversation that felt more real than structured.


https://www.allthingswtf.com/wtfund


00:00 - WTFund Bootcamp
02:02 - Intro
03:20 - Prava - AI-Led Transactions
10:22 - Astraeus Innovus - Preventive Cancer Screening
18:45 - Turocrates AI - AI-Driven Diagnostics
26:35 - AntiMattr - Voice-First Computing
32:12 - O3 security - Securing AI Systems
39:05 - Bloom Rehab - Tech-Enabled Recovery
42:00 - Journey to Building
46:22 - Philosophies of life
50:31 - Placestation - Automating PCB Assembly
55:32 - AEYI : AI-Powered CCTV Monitoring
57:50 - Q&A with Nikhil
01:04:14 - AI Girlfriend & Dating
01:05:35 - Schools of Psychology
01:08:26 - Nikhil's Birthday Plans
01:09:11 - Golden Hour
01:10:10 - Healthcare & Longevity
01:12:33 - Trading
01:16:32 - Advice for Young Founders 


#NikhilKamath Co-founder of Zerodha, Gruhas Host of ‘WTF is’ & ‘People by WTF’ Podcast

Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio 


WTFund India’s premiere non-dilutive grant fund for emerging entrepreneurs.

Twitter: https://x.com/TheWTFund
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/wtfund 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewtfund 


O3 Security A security platform that stops software supply-chain attacks in real time — whether it’s AI-generated or human-written code to production.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o3_security/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aeyi/ 


Aeyi Aeyi is a GENAI-powered system that turns normal CCTV cameras into real-time safety and monitoring tools.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aeyi_surve/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aeyi/ 


Antimattr AI-powered earbuds for hands-free audio computing.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antimattr.one/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/antimattr/about/ 


BloomRehab Rehabilitation robots for neuro and ortho recovery.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bloomrehab/ 


Astraeus Innovus A ₹100 saliva test that screens for oral cancer in under 5 minutes.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/astraeus-innovus/about/ 


PlaceStation A desktop system that automates PCB assembly for faster, accessible electronics manufacturing.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/placestation_/ 


Prava A payments infrastructure layer built specifically for AI shopping assistants and agents.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pravapayments/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prava-payments/ 


Turocrates Improving patient outcomes using a digital and AI-driven operating system for diagnostic labs.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/turocrates-ai/ 


#WTFund

We Backed 17 of India's Brightest Young Founders with ₹20L Grants | WTFund Cohort 3

I sat down with His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s youngest minister and the world’s first AI Minister, to unpack how modern governments think about the future and the role younger leaders play in shaping it. A last-minute conversation in Dubai that opened up a thoughtful discussion on youth in politics, leadership, and how AI is beginning to influence the way nations are governed. Big thanks to @IndiaGlobalForum for creating the space for conversations like this, and Manoj Ladwa, a dear friend and a rare connector between India and the rest of the world. People like him, through IGF are helping frame the ideas that will define this decade, and bring them to life


00:00 – Introduction 
01:24 – Why AI Changes the Power Balance Between Countries 
05:05 – Jobs, Intelligence, & What AI Takes Away From Humans 
13:20 – Why This Conversation Happened at IGF 
15:42 – Making of a Minister 
22:18 – Why does anything matter? 
24:42 – Machiavelli 
30:23 – Fear or love? How are Leaders Remembered? 
33:26 – UAE's Legacy & It's Perpetual Importance 
38:04 – How UAE goes about it's diasporic Governance 
48:13 – Taxes, Value Exchange, and What Citizens Expect 
55:09 – Education, Work, and the Path to Government 
1:12:19 – The Phone Call That Made Him AI Minister at 27 
1:14:22 – Corruption, Incentives, and Power Structures 
1:24:46 – AI & Governance 
1:27:55 – Global Neutrality, Building Bridges & Restraint 
1:37:49 – Blockchain, Discourse, and Closing Reflections 


#NikhilKamath Entrepreneur & Investor Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast

X: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 


#omarsultanalolama : Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications at Government of the UAE 

Twitter - [https://x.com/OmarSAlolama] 
LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-sultan-alolama-305b8366/?originalSubdomain=ae] 


Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn 
Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59 
Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th 


#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline

Nikhil Kamath ft. H.E Omar Sultan Al Olama | The Case for Youth in Politics | Special Ep

Came for a conversation, Left with a shift in perspective. A solid case to prove that age isn’t the barrier we think it is. A big thank you to  @IndiaGlobalForum  for hosting this dialogue. And to Manoj Ladwa, for being the bridge that makes conversations like this happen. 


#NikhilKamath Entrepreneur & Investor Host of 'WTF is' & 'People By WTF' Podcast

X: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio/ 


#omarsultanalolama : Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications at Government of the UAE

Twitter - [https://x.com/OmarSAlolama](https://x.com/OmarSAlolama) 
LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-sultan-alolama-305b8366/?originalSubdomain=ae](https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-sultan-alolama-305b8366/?originalSubdomain=ae) 



Watch 'WTF is' Podcast on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4nsm4ezn 
Watch 'People by WTF' Podcast on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/yme92c59 
Watch 'WTF Online' on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4tjua4th 


#WTFiswithnikhilkamath #PeopleByWTF #WTFOnline