Flipkart Co-Founder Sachin Bansal Teams Up With Manav Garg for New Agentic Commerce Startup

Flipkart and Navi co-founder Sachin Bansal is backing a new artificial intelligence venture being launched by entrepreneur and investor Manav Garg, as interest in agentic commerce gathers momentum in India’s startup ecosystem. Bansal is in discussions to invest between $20 million and $30 million (approximately ₹190–280 crore) in the proposed company, according to a Moneycontrol report citing people familiar with the development.

Garg is targeting approximately $100 million (around ₹950 crore) in initial capital for the startup and is holding discussions with additional potential investors. The venture aims to explore agentic commerce, an emerging business category in which AI agents can help consumers discover products, compare options and potentially complete purchases. The startup’s name, product details and launch timeline have not yet been publicly disclosed.

Sachin Bansal Plans $20–30 Million Investment

Bansal’s proposed investment is expected to represent a significant contribution towards the new venture’s initial funding.

According to Moneycontrol, Garg has secured investment commitments worth approximately $20–30 million from Bansal. However, the entrepreneur is looking to raise a substantially larger amount of around $100 million to establish and develop the business.

Discussions with other potential investors are reportedly underway. The final size and structure of the funding round will depend on additional investor interest and commitments.

Bansal is also expected to contribute beyond providing financial backing. People familiar with the development told Moneycontrol that he could advise Garg on commerce strategy and important business decisions.

His experience building Flipkart into one of India’s largest e-commerce platforms could provide valuable commercial expertise to a startup attempting to develop a new model of online shopping.

Garg, meanwhile, is expected to bring his experience in artificial intelligence, enterprise software and startup investing.

Neither Bansal nor Garg responded to Moneycontrol’s queries about the proposed venture, according to the report.

What Is Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce refers to a developing model of online shopping in which artificial intelligence agents perform multiple tasks on behalf of consumers.

Traditional e-commerce platforms generally require customers to search for products, compare prices, read reviews, select items and complete purchases themselves.

Agentic commerce aims to automate parts of this process.

For example, a consumer could ask an AI assistant to find a smartphone within a particular budget, compare specifications, evaluate customer reviews and identify suitable purchasing options.

An advanced shopping agent could potentially go further by checking availability, applying preferences and completing transactions after receiving the required customer approval.

The concept could change how consumers interact with online retailers.

Instead of navigating multiple websites and applications, shoppers may increasingly rely on AI assistants to understand their requirements and coordinate purchasing decisions.

For businesses, agentic commerce could create new opportunities in product discovery, customer engagement, personalised recommendations and automated transactions.

However, the technology is still developing. The extent to which AI agents can independently complete purchases will depend on payment integrations, merchant partnerships, consumer permissions and security safeguards.

Manav Garg Brings SaaS and AI Experience

Manav Garg brings experience from India’s enterprise software and artificial intelligence startup ecosystem.

He founded Eka Software in 2004, building the company into an enterprise software business focused on commodity management, supply chains, procurement and treasury operations.

In 2024, US private equity firm STG acquired Eka Software and subsequently combined it with Quor Group.

Garg later became involved in startup investing and ecosystem development through Together Fund, an AI-focused venture capital firm he co-founded in July 2021.

The fund was established alongside Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham, Shubham Gupta and Lakshmi Narayanan.

Together Fund focuses on early-stage technology companies, particularly businesses developing artificial intelligence and enterprise software products.

Garg has also been associated with SaaSBoomi, a community supporting India’s software-as-a-service founders and operators that later evolved into AIBoomi.

His investment activities have included AI startups such as Emergent, Composio and RapidClaims.

Garg Steps Away From Emergent

Garg’s decision to launch the new agentic commerce venture follows his recent involvement with Emergent, an AI-powered software-building startup.

He joined Emergent as executive chairman in June 2026, becoming part of the company’s leadership as it expanded its AI-based application development business.

However, he has now stepped away from the executive role to pursue the new venture.

The move comes as founders and investors increasingly explore opportunities to build specialised businesses around AI agents rather than focusing exclusively on general-purpose AI models.

Garg’s experience in enterprise software and AI investing could help him identify commercial applications where autonomous or semi-autonomous AI systems can deliver measurable value.

Sachin Bansal Expands His Interest in AI-Driven Businesses

Bansal is best known for co-founding Flipkart with Binny Bansal in 2007.

The company became one of India’s largest e-commerce businesses before Walmart acquired a majority stake in it in 2018.

After leaving Flipkart, Sachin Bansal moved into financial technology and co-founded Navi in 2018.

Navi operates across financial services, including lending and other consumer financial products. Bansal has focused on building technology-driven financial services businesses through the company.

His potential investment in Garg’s venture represents an opportunity to return to the commerce sector through a different technological approach.

Rather than competing directly with traditional online marketplaces, the proposed business could explore how AI agents might change the way consumers interact with merchants and make purchasing decisions.

The investment discussions also come amid fresh fundraising activity around Navi.

Moneycontrol recently reported that Navi was looking to raise approximately $40 million from Elevation Capital, following a $100 million investment from Prosus.

Prosus is also an investor in Emergent, creating an additional connection between companies associated with Bansal and Garg.

The reported $40 million Elevation transaction was under discussion and should not be confused with a completed funding round.

Why Investors Are Betting on Agentic AI

The proposed venture comes at a time when investors are increasingly exploring commercial applications of artificial intelligence.

Early AI investment activity focused heavily on foundation models, computing infrastructure and businesses developing general-purpose AI systems.

Attention is now expanding towards application-layer startups that use AI to solve specific business problems.

Agentic AI is emerging as one of these areas.

Unlike conventional AI assistants that primarily generate responses or provide recommendations, AI agents are designed to perform multi-step tasks, interact with software systems and take actions within defined permissions.

In commerce, this could include product research, price comparisons, inventory checks, customer support and purchasing assistance.

For retailers, the technology could potentially reduce friction in the shopping process and improve personalisation.

However, several challenges remain.

AI agents must provide accurate product information, protect customer data and handle payment details securely. Retailers will also need systems that allow these agents to access product catalogues, inventory information and transaction platforms.

Consumer trust will be another important factor. Shoppers may be willing to delegate product research to AI but could remain cautious about allowing automated systems to spend money without explicit approval.

These challenges will influence how quickly agentic commerce moves from experimentation into mainstream adoption.

The Bigger Picture

The potential partnership between Bansal and Garg reflects a broader shift in India’s technology startup ecosystem.

Experienced founders and investors are increasingly looking beyond traditional e-commerce and software businesses towards AI-powered platforms that could reshape existing industries.

Commerce is a particularly significant opportunity because it combines consumer behaviour, product discovery, payments, logistics and merchant relationships.

Bansal brings experience from building one of India’s largest online marketplaces, while Garg contributes enterprise software and AI startup experience. Their proposed collaboration brings together expertise from two areas that could become important as AI agents enter the shopping process.

However, the venture’s commercial opportunity will depend on its eventual product, business model, technology capabilities and ability to establish relationships with merchants and payment providers.

Looking Ahead

The immediate priority for Garg will be raising the targeted $100 million in initial capital and developing the business. Bansal’s proposed $20–30 million investment could provide an important starting point, but the final funding structure will depend on discussions with other investors. The startup’s identity, product offering and launch timeline remain undisclosed.

For India’s AI ecosystem, the proposed venture adds another prominent entrepreneur-led effort to explore agentic commerce. If AI agents become more capable of handling product discovery and purchasing tasks, they could change how consumers interact with online retailers. Whether that opportunity develops into a large commercial market will depend on technology reliability, customer trust and the ability to integrate AI systems with existing commerce infrastructure.