- Founders leading pitches with "we use AI" risk losing investor attention, says Kamath
- Kamath finds many AI-focused decks excessive and often not insightful for investors
- AI is now "table stakes," not a competitive advantage for startups, Kamath explains
Founders leading their investment pitches with “we use AI” risk losing the attention of investors, according to Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath.
Kamath said the number of investment decks built around AI has become excessive, with the phrase increasingly failing to offer investors any meaningful insight into a startup's business.
“The number of investment decks I get leading with ‘we use AI' is ridiculous,” Kamath said in a post. He added that he has “almost stopped looking at them”.
According to Kamath, founders need to recognise that artificial intelligence has become “table stakes” rather than a competitive advantage.
The number of investment decks I get leading with “we use AI” is ridiculous. It's reached a point where it automatically makes my eyes roll, and I've almost stopped looking at them.
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) August 14, 2026
Founders need to realize that AI is just table stakes now. Bragging that your product uses AI is…
He compared highlighting AI usage in a pitch to “bragging that you take a bath every day”, arguing that the technology itself does not differentiate one startup from another.
“In fact, opening your pitch with it is a surefire way to get ignored, not just by us, but by most serious VCs,” Kamath said.
His comments come as AI tools have made it easier for founders to create polished investment decks. While this has lowered the barrier to producing professional-looking presentations, Kamath said it has also created a problem: startups increasingly risk sounding identical.
“Especially now that AI has democratised the ability to generate ‘nice-looking' decks, the last thing you want to do is say the exact same generic things as every other founder using the exact same tools,” he said.
Kamath's criticism points to a broader shift in how startups may need to position themselves in an increasingly crowded AI market. Simply incorporating AI into a product may no longer be enough to convince investors of its potential.
For founders, the focus may instead need to be on what the product solves, why customers will pay for it and what gives the business an edge that competitors cannot easily replicate.
Kamath's comments also highlight the risk of confusing the use of a widely available technology with a genuine business moat. As AI adoption spreads across industries, investors are likely to look beyond whether a startup uses AI and towards how effectively it applies the technology to build a sustainable business
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