IntuGine: Ayush Agrawal on Digitizing Indian Logistics with IoT
The Indian logistics industry is famously fragmented, traditional, and opaque. Ayush Agrawal, the Co-founder of IntuGine, is on a mission to change that. A graduate of IIT Kharagpur, Ayush took the unconventional path of pausing his degree for two years to build his startup in the heart of Bangalore's tech ecosystem. Today, IntuGine is a leading name in supply chain visibility, using a mix of IoT and SaaS to bring real-time data to a sector that desperately needs it.
Ayush's entrepreneurial spark was ignited during his third year at IIT Kharagpur. "We were originally working on gesture-based technology for laptops and Smart TVs," he recalls. However, a deep dive into the market revealed a massive, unaddressed pain point in logistics. "Everything in the traditional supply chain was manual. Managers didn't know where their trucks were, and data was sitting on paper rather than in a system. We realized that digitizing this process was a much larger opportunity."
The Value of Data in Logistics
IntuGine's core value proposition is visibility. "You can't optimize what you can't see," Ayush explains. "By digitizing the movements of trucks and the handoffs between plants and warehouses, we provide the data that manufacturers need to reduce costs and increase efficiency. It's about taking the 'traditional' out of the supply chain."
The Pivot: From Hardware to SaaS
The journey wasn't without its pivots. IntuGine originally started with a hardware-heavy approach but quickly realized the scalability of a software-driven model. "We learned that in India, manufacturing hardware is a challenge," Ayush notes. "By focusing on the IoT-SaaS layer, we could provide the same visibility across a much larger network of transporters and drivers without the friction of proprietary hardware."
Ayush's decision to take a two-year break from college to focus on IntuGine was a turning point. "It was a difficult conversation with my parents," he admits. "But the momentum in Bangalore was too high to ignore. Being in that ecosystem, surrounded by other founders and investors, was the best education I could have asked for. I eventually went back to finish my degree, but those two years in the 'real world' made all the difference."
Building a Sustainable Business Model
IntuGine's growth was fueled early on by prize money from various startup competitions. "That initial capital was crucial for building our prototype," says Ayush. Once they had market traction, they raised external funding to scale. Today, the company works with some of the biggest manufacturers and transporters in India, helping them consolidate their fragmented logistics networks into a single, data-driven platform.
Ayush's Advice for Student Founders
- Fall in Love with the Problem: Don't get too attached to your initial solution. The market will tell you what it actually needs. Be ready to pivot.
- Start Early, Validate Fast: Use your college days to experiment. Validate your ideas with real customers before committing fully.
- Ecosystem Matters: If possible, spend time in startup hubs like Bangalore. The networking and the shared knowledge are invaluable.
- Finish Your Degree: While it might seem optional during the startup hype, having that degree provides a safety net and long-term credibility.
The Future of Logistics Tech
Looking ahead, Ayush sees a wave of consolidation in the logistics tech space. He believes that the next five years will be about moving beyond simple tracking to predictive analytics. "We want to tell our clients not just where their truck is, but when it's likely to arrive and what the potential delays are," he explains. For Ayush, the ultimate goal is to make IntuGine the operating system for the Indian supply chain.
IntuGine at a Glance
- Focus: Supply Chain Visibility and Logistics Digitization.
- Technology: A hybrid of IoT and SaaS.
- Heritage: Born at IIT Kharagpur, scaled in Bangalore.
About the Guest
Ayush Agrawal is the Co-founder of IntuGine. A graduate of IIT Kharagpur, Ayush is a visionary tech entrepreneur who is passionate about solving industrial-scale problems using IoT. He is a recognized face in the Indian logistics tech community and is frequently involved in discussions about the future of digital supply chains. Ayush is dedicated to helping Indian manufacturers stay competitive on a global stage through the power of data and technology.
IntuGine is a Bangalore-based logistics technology company that provides end-to-end visibility solutions for the supply chain. By integrating IoT devices with a powerful SaaS platform, IntuGine enables businesses to track shipments in real-time, optimize transit times, and reduce operational inefficiencies across their logistics networks.