Just four months after securing funding from Aravind Srinivas, founder of Perplexity AI, enterprise-focused AI startup Astra has officially ceased operations. The announcement was made on LinkedIn by CEO and cofounder Supreet Hegde, who pointed to internal disagreements with fellow cofounder Ranjan Rajagopalan as a key reason for the closure. “Despite our best efforts, as co-founders, we found ourselves at different crossroads regarding the pace of growth,” Hegde stated. “We have chosen to part ways and bring this chapter to a close.”
Founded in 2023 by two IIT Madras alumni, Astra set out to develop an AI-driven sales analytics platform, branding itself as the “Chief of Staff for every account executive.” The tool was designed to automate up to 80% of account executive tasks and improve deal execution efficiency. The startup managed to onboard two enterprise clients during its beta testing phase, a promising sign in an increasingly crowded AI landscape.
However, despite early traction and backing from a prominent investor, Astra struggled to overcome key challenges common to early-stage AI ventures. Hegde acknowledged issues with establishing trust among enterprise clients and competing in an oversaturated AI agent market. “Working with larger companies meant navigating lengthy sales cycles… The current surge of interest and confusion surrounding AI agents added yet another layer of complexity,” he wrote in his post.
Hegde did not share details about his future plans, while Rajagopalan has already moved on to a new stealth-mode venture. Before co-founding Astra, Hegde held a role at HyperVerge, and Rajagopalan had previous experience at Proshort and Google.
Astra’s closure follows the recent shutdown of another AI SaaS startup, subtl.ai, highlighting the growing hurdles faced by emerging AI companies, even those with influential backers. The case of Astra underscores the ongoing difficulties in navigating enterprise sales, market saturation, and internal alignment in the fast-evolving AI startup ecosystem.
