What happens when the brightest minds in India’s startup ecosystem come together? Innovation accelerates, bold ideas take flight, and the foundation for long-term impact is laid. That’s exactly what unfolded at the first-ever Griffin Retreat, hosted by Inc42 at The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, from February 22 to 24, 2025.
Against the breathtaking backdrop of the Taj Mahal, over 75 visionary founders — the driving forces behind $200 Bn worth of unicorns and soonicorns — gathered to discuss, collaborate, and shape the next phase of India’s startup revolution.
But Griffin Retreat was about more than just conversations — it was about charting a course for India’s $1 Tn digital economy. By 2030, India is poised to be home to 200,000 startups, 350+ unicorns, and 250+ publicly listed companies, contributing nearly 10% of India’s projected $10 Tn market cap.
Achieving this ambitious vision will require scaling startups into sustainable public market leaders, strengthening capital markets, and ensuring long-term value creation. Griffin Retreat served as the breeding ground for these ideas, offering founders a space to step away from daily decision-making and engage in high-value discussions on IPOs, scaling strategies, and investment landscapes.
The retreat was graced by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who unveiled Inc42’s State of Uttar Pradesh Startup Ecosystem Report 2025. It also hosted some of India’s most influential entrepreneurs, including Mohandas Pai (Aarin Capital Partners), Motilal Oswal (Motilal Oswal Financial Services), Aman Gupta (boAt), Ritesh Agarwal (OYO), Meghna Agarwal (IndiQube), Vishwas Patel (Infibeam Avenues), Sparsh Gupta (Wingify), and Beerud Sheth (Gupshup). Across three days of closed-door sessions, discussions covered navigating IPO roadmaps, managing investor expectations, and scaling businesses to global heights.
Beyond the boardrooms, the retreat fostered genuine, deep conversations — from and secret suppers to early-morning reflections by the Taj Mahal. Founders shared not just their successes but also their struggles, the lessons learned, and the vision that will propel India’s digital economy forward.
Griffin Retreat was not just an event — it was the beginning of a movement. The partnerships, strategies, and ideas born here are set to ripple across India’s startup ecosystem, driving innovation, generating employment, and strengthening India’s economic future.
None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of our partners. Inc42’s Griffin Retreat was powered by IndiQube and Akamai, with Nitro and Playbook as supporting partners. Their contributions helped create an experience that will leave a lasting impact on India’s entrepreneurial landscape.
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IndiQube
Founded by Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal in 2015, IndiQube is an integrated workspace company with over 100 managed workspaces across 13 cities in the country. Based out of Bengaluru, it offers flexible office solutions that help businesses scale without relocating to bigger spaces to accommodate a growing workforce.
The company also operates in personalising office interiors, end-to-end property management, and workspace management software as a service.
With more than 7 Mn sq ft of office space across India, the company serves over 700 businesses, enabling them to optimise their workspace operations.
Akamai
Set up in 1998, Akamai offers cloud computing, security, and content delivery services around the world. With a network of over 365,000 servers in more than 135 countries, the brainchild of Dr Tom Leighton and Daniel Lewin provides a secure, reliable, and fast delivery of content and applications to end-users.
Besides solving some of the toughest challenges in building a safer and more connected world, Akamai provides additional security features such as DDoS protection, web application firewalls, and content encryption.
Supporting Partner
Nitro
Umair Mohammed, Pratik A, and Shamail Tayyab rolled out Nitro Commerce in 2023 to help D2C brands boost their sales with AI-powered solutions. Headquartered in Delhi NCR, the company focuses on challenges faced by D2C startups, such as anonymous visitors and conversion hurdles, while simplifying complex marketing for D2C businesses.
Nitro is trying to solve the problems that require innovation, and solutions that can unlock the true potential of India’s D2C brands.
Playbook
Vikas Choudhury, the ex-president at Reliance Jio and a Harvard Business School alumnus, launched venture capital firm Playbook Partners in 2024. Based in Mumbai, the fund invests in India-based startups across a range of sectors – from enterprise applications to high-tech retail.
The fund helps early-age startups to scale and take it to the next level of growth with selective, data-driven, and high-conviction investments.
Gifting Partner
Svaara
Founded in Surat in 2019 by Chahat Shah, Svaara is redefining luxury with sustainability by crafting fine jewellery with lab-grown diamonds.
Svaara, in collaboration with Inc42, crafted two exclusive keepsakes for the visionary founders at Griffin Retreat—a handcrafted brooch adorned with lab-grown diamonds and a symbolic silver coin. These gifts are tribute to the resilience, courage, and unwavering vision it takes to build something timeless.
The silver coin, an emblem of legacy and perseverance, symbolises the bold spirit of entrepreneurs who push boundaries and shape the future. Through this partnership, Svaara reinforced its commitment to celebrating those who dare to dream, build, and create impact — with a vision as enduring as the treasures they received.
Luxury Mobility Partner
BMW
BMW, a luxury vehicles and motorcycle manufacturer with a legacy of over 100 years, partnered with Inc42 as the Luxury Mobility Partner for Griffin Retreat, crafting a grandeur experience for our guests.
The German auto major powered the event with a fleet of 35 cars that catered for the movement of our guests from Delhi Airport to The Oberoi, New Delhi and The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra.
The Griffin fleet, with models such as BMW i5, BMW i7, and BMW iX, not only enabled a luxurious and safe intercity travel for innovators but also defined the standard of experiences that retreat has to offer.
The post Thank You, Sponsors, For Powering Griffin Retreat 2025 appeared first on Inc42 Media.