The prolific Business magazine Forbes has released its annual '30 Under 30' list, which highlights 30 extraordinary individuals under the age of 30 from various industries. However, this year’s list is special because of the 30, 2 names on the list belong to brilliant visionaries from Punjab’s Jalandhar itself. Gursimran Singh Kalra and his longtime friend Gagandeep Reehal were included in the list for their innovative joint venture, Minus Zero. The Bangalore-based company has developed self-driving software for a fully autonomous vehicle. Last year, Minus Zero raised $1.7 million in funding from investors led by Chiratae Ventures. Through this article, we get to know the brilliant visionaries from Jalandhar, who penned their names in the annals of history, and made the country proud.
Who are Gursimran Singh Kalra & Gagandeep Reehal?
Gursimran Kalra and Gagandeep Reehal both shared a similar goal but come from different backgrounds. They studied together in the same school for almost 10 years and after changing streams they finally coordinated in September 2020 to build their ambitious project.
Gursimran Kalra was a prodigious child from Jalandhar's Urban Estate Phase-1, with a brilliant mind for business. He was the Jalandhar district CBSE topper in Commerce and graduated from the prolific Shree Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University. He also managed to secure a placement at one of the top consulting companies in the world. However, Gursimran had always dreamed of his own start-up. While talking to True Scoop, Gursimran said that he had always aimed to do something impactful in the world with technology.
Gagandeep Reehal, co-founder of Minus Zero, was also a child prodigy from Rama Mandi, Jalandhar, having delved into the world of coding at the tender age of 8. At 15-years of age, his interests expanded to Artificial Intelligence (AI). His prowess was such that he had an offer lined up to study at the esteemed Oxford University in England. However, he couldn’t pursue studying abroad due to COVID-19 pandemic. Gagandeep is a B. tech graduate from Thapar University.
How the idea came to be?
The duo however came together in 2020 to pursue the idea of improving road safety with an AI-powered self-driving software for fully autonomous vehicles. They tested their first prototype, an e-rickshaw, and drove it without a driver along a 2.2 km stretch of road in Jalandhar. Hence, Minus Zero became the first Indian Company to operate a driverless vehicle on public roads.
In the beginning phases, the project was funded from their own expenses. But after their prototype, they attracted a lot of attention in the market, people really appreciated their work, and they were covered by various media houses, not only in India but also around the world. They received a government grant from the Ministry of Electronics & Technology to pursue their idea further. Last year, Minus Zero raised $1.7 million in funding from investors led by Chiratae Ventures.
Now the startup has also signed a partnership with Indian Automotive giant Ashok Leyland and are working towards even more. Gursimran Kalra says that he wants to encourage all the young aspiring startups to not give up on their efforts. Hardwork is key, as the duo worked full-time, hustling and investing atleast 12–14 hours a day into their dream.