Why This Founder Who Sold His Startup for $200 Mn is Choosing To Stay Put in India
Delhi-based SaaS startup Wingify has been acquired by Singapore-headquartered private equity firm Everstone for $200 million (INR 1,600 crore), injecting significant foreign capital into India’s economy. As debates flare over yet another Indian startup being acquired by an international investor, Wingify founder Paras Chopra offered a sharp response: “Nope, plan to stay in India. Think of it this way: this deal was the reason a significant amount of forex came into India, and I was able to contribute tax to the country. I see no reason for bitterness.” Wingify’s flagship product, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), powers 2,500+ brands across 90+ countries, with notable clients such as Ubisoft, Dominos, Target, and eBay. The company’s FY24 revenue stood at INR 288.61 crore, up from INR 220.60 crore in FY23. In March 2010, he left his job, where he was earning a salary of ₹50,000. His aim was to generate the same amount from his project and assured his parents that the business would provide enough income for them not to worry. “I was earning about 50,000 rupees in salary from my job. I just wanted to get the same amount of money from this project,” said Paras in a 2013 interview. [Must Watch] Check out Paras Chopra’s exclusive interview with AIM below: Startup M&A Spree Begins! Founder and CEO of People Group, and Shaadi.com, Anupam Mittal highlighted the recent developments in the Indian startup ecosystem, noting that “the funding winter seems to be ending, and M&A spring is officially here.” Referencing two acquisitions that happened this week that included Wingfy and Minimalist that were sold to HUL for INR 3000 crore, Mittal applauded the Indian founders. “What’s truly inspiring is how the founders made it happen. Wingify was 100% founder-owned and bootstrapped—zero funding raised!” he shared on Linkedin. “Congrats Paras Chopra … always  been impressed with your courage and focus to build silently.” Mittal stresses that building great products creates more wealth than chasing high valuations, emphasizing “return on equity > funding raised.” He advocates bootstrapping, noting that staying lean often works better than relying on heavy funding. “INR 1,000 crore ka founder outcome is often better than a multi-billion-dollar deal where investors walk away with most of the money,” he said. Paras will be speaking at India’s biggest AI developers summit, MLDS 2025. Register now! What’s Next? Chopra, a machine learning expert and Delhi College of Engineering graduate, has also founded Turing’s Dream, an AI hack house in Bengaluru. He offers free cloud GPUs worth $2,500 per participant and connects them with AI researchers, peers, and investors. Turing’s Dream stands apart from traditional AI accelerators or incubators like People+AI, explicitly discouraging applications focused on “wrappers on existing APIs” or those seeking co-founders. The six-week residency program allows coders and researchers to work on their AI projects while becoming part of an exclusive community of past and present residents, an AGI-focused network. “There aren’t enough communities for people who love AI for its own sake,” said Chopra in an earlier interview with AIM. Interestingly, Chopra holds an academic background in biotechnology, and this has surprised several folks on social media, given his success in computer science.
“INR 1,000 crore ka founder outcome is often better than a multi-billion-dollar deal where investors walk away with most of the money.”
Paras Chopra went from earning INR 50,000 from Wingify in 2017, to selling it to Everstone for $200 million (INR 1,600 Cr) in 2025.
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As a rare blend of engineering, MBA, and journalism degree, Vandana Nair brings a unique combination of technical know-how, business acumen, and storytelling skills to the table. Her insatiable curiosity for all things startups, businesses, and AI technologies ensures that there's always a fresh and insightful perspective to her reporting. She now hosts her tech segment 'Point Break' on AIM Tv.