Saumya Bhatnagar, co-founder and CTO of AI agent startup Jeeva, is challenging the myth that creativity and technical skills are mutually exclusive in the AI industry. Despite identifying more with literature and the arts in her youth, Bhatnagar has become a successful engineer and founder in the competitive AI agent space, arguing that her creative background provides a crucial competitive advantage.
Bhatnagar’s journey into tech began unexpectedly in a high school coding class in New Delhi, where she was the only female student and faced immediate social isolation. Despite experiencing “plenty of micro and macro aggressions” throughout her career, she persevered, first building AI software to combat sex-selective abortion in India alongside co-founder Gaurav Bhattacharya. Their technology, which identified risk factors for gender-based pregnancy termination, was eventually distributed by the Indian government to ultrasound specialists.
Today, Bhatnagar and Bhattacharya lead Jeeva (formerly Involve AI), an AI agent startup focused on automating customer retention and revenue growth. The company has raised over $20 million in venture capital, including a $16 million Series A round in 2021 led by Sapphire Ventures with participation from Bonfire Ventures and Greycroft. Jeeva is competing in the rapidly expanding agentic AI market, which raised $8.2 billion in 2024 according to PitchBook data.
The startup has achieved remarkable efficiency, reaching $5 million in annual recurring revenue in just nine months with only 11 full-time employees. Impressively, Jeeva now uses AI for its entire sales process and 99% of its software development, demonstrating the transformative potential of AI agents.
Bhatnagar’s story highlights ongoing challenges for women in AI and tech. While prominent female leaders like Fei-Fei Li, Daniela Amodei (Anthropic), and former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati have gained recognition, female founders still face significant obstacles including fundraising bias and limited mentorship. VC investment in startups with at least one female founder reached $45.4 billion across 3,216 deals in 2024, up from $2.7 billion in 2010, but represented only 22.7% of overall VC funding—the lowest percentage since 2017.
Bhatnagar credits her success to combining technical expertise with creative problem-solving, stating that “what separates a good engineer from a bad one is creativity.” Her philosophy emphasizes that motivation supersedes ability, and that empathy and creative solutions are essential competitive advantages in engineering and AI development.
Key Quotes
There’s this myth that creativity and technical skills are mutually exclusive. But to build great software and a great product, you need a little bit of both.
Saumya Bhatnagar, CTO and co-founder of AI agent startup Jeeva, explains how her creative background provides a competitive advantage in technical work, challenging traditional assumptions about engineering skills.
It’s a man’s world in the VC, startups, and AI space. I realized I was good at computer science when I started exploring, but a lot of women wouldn’t even know due to societal bias. Some don’t even try because they automatically assume they wouldn’t be good at it.
Bhatnagar addresses the gender barriers in AI and venture capital, highlighting how societal assumptions prevent many women from even attempting to enter technical fields, perpetuating the industry’s diversity problem.
Motivation supersedes ability — you can always learn how to code, but if you don’t have the motivation, it won’t happen. I was so passionate about the cause, I was willing to fail a thousand times.
Reflecting on her first project building AI software to combat sex-selective abortion in India, Bhatnagar emphasizes that passion and purpose can overcome technical skill gaps, a lesson that guided her entrepreneurial journey.
It’s my personal worldview that what separates a good engineer from a bad one is creativity. The hard sciences shouldn’t mean that you don’t use empathy, problem-solving, or creative solutions. That’s an edge that an excellent engineer has over an average one.
Bhatnagar articulates her core philosophy on engineering excellence, arguing that empathy and creative problem-solving—not just technical prowess—distinguish exceptional engineers in the AI era.
Our Take
Bhatnagar’s story arrives at a pivotal moment for AI agents and startup culture. Her success achieving $5 million ARR with minimal headcount by leveraging AI for 99% of development isn’t just impressive—it’s a preview of how AI will fundamentally restructure software companies. The traditional venture playbook of rapid hiring may become obsolete as AI agents handle tasks previously requiring large teams.
Her emphasis on creativity as a technical differentiator is particularly prescient. As AI handles routine coding tasks, the premium will shift to engineers who can think creatively about problems, understand user needs empathetically, and architect novel solutions—exactly the skills Bhatnagar champions. The declining percentage of funding to female founders despite absolute growth reveals a troubling trend: as AI becomes more lucrative, capital concentration among traditional (predominantly male) networks intensifies. This threatens to embed existing biases into the AI systems shaping our future, making diverse founder perspectives not just equitable but essential for building beneficial AI.
Why This Matters
This story illuminates critical dynamics shaping the AI industry’s future. As AI agents emerge as one of the hottest investment categories—attracting over $8 billion in 2024—understanding what drives successful founders in this space becomes increasingly important. Bhatnagar’s emphasis on creativity as a technical advantage challenges Silicon Valley’s traditional engineering culture and suggests that diverse thinking styles may be essential for building effective AI products.
The gender disparity highlighted in the article remains a significant industry concern. Despite growth in absolute funding, the declining percentage of VC investment going to female-founded startups (22.7% in 2024) suggests systemic barriers persist even as AI transforms business. This matters because diverse perspectives are crucial for building AI systems that serve all users effectively and avoid embedded biases.
Jeeva’s operational efficiency—achieving $5 million ARR with just 11 employees by using AI for 99% of development—demonstrates the transformative potential of AI agents to reshape how startups operate. This validates investor enthusiasm while raising questions about AI’s impact on employment and traditional software development roles. The story serves as both inspiration for underrepresented founders and a case study in how AI is fundamentally changing startup economics.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-agent-startup-jeeva-founder-creativity-competitive-edge-2025-2