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As I write this, I’m somewhere over the Atlantic, en route to Delhi for what may be the largest and most consequential AI Impact Summit ever hosted in the Global South. Leaders from over 100 countries. More than 40 global CEOs. Silicon Valley’s most influential voices in AI, technology, and public policy all convening around one theme: People, Planet, and Progress.
It was an honor to be in the room. Excited. Convinced more than ever that we are building in the right place at the right time.
This edition covers three things: what the US-India trade deal means for our thesis, why we are bullish on India as the core of our emerging markets strategy, and what is happening right now in beauty, wellness, and healthcare that we believe will define the next decade of value creation.
Let's get into it.
TECHTHRVE VENTURES AT THE AI IMPACT SUMMIT
Last year, TechThrive Ventures’ media arm, the Ctrl. Alt. Thrive podcast, entered into a partnership with UNESCO to amplify women’s voices across tech, AI, and policy. This week, the podcast was featured in UNESCO's Women for Ethical AI (W4EAI) Impact and Activity Report, launched at the AI Summit.
To contribute even in a small way to global conversations at the intersection of innovation, governance, and inclusion is both an honor and a responsibility. More importantly, it reflects how we operate: at the intersection of capital, ecosystem-building, and policy engagement.
Our presence at the AI Impact Summit this week is a continuation of the work we have been building toward.The Summit reinforced our conviction that global innovation is becoming multipolar, and the founders plugged into fast-scaling consumer ecosystems are best positioned to capture cross-border upside.
THE US-INDIA TRADE FRAMEWORK
On February 7, the United States and India signed an interim trade agreement aimed at removing structural barriers across key industrial, agricultural, and consumer goods categories, while committing to ease non-tariff barriers including regulatory cooperation around medical devices and regulatory alignment.
On paper, it is a diplomatic update. In practice, it reshapes how ingredients, devices, and consumer health products move between two of the world's fastest-growing markets.
For sectors like consumer health, women's health, wellness, and beauty categories shaped by demographics, digital adoption, and rapidly evolving consumer expectations the implications are significant. These are categories that reward companies capable of operating internationally from early in their lifecycle.
What excites us most is the strengthening of the US-India and Europe-India corridors. In January India and the European Union announced a free trade agreement covering approximately two billion people and roughly one-third of global trade. These regions share democratic values, complementary capabilities, and a mutual interest in keeping Asia open, competitive, and innovation-driven. We have worked across all three geographies because we believe this alignment deserves long-term capital and deeper collaboration
The joint commitment between the two countries signals a future in which collaboration, talent exchange, and investment pathways become more fluid. For venture ecosystems, that typically translates into faster scaling and a broader set of exit opportunities.
WHY INDIA IS THE CORE OF OUR EMERGING MARKETS STRATEGY
India remains the fastest-growing major economy globally, and its digital infrastructure is already at scale: over 650 million smartphone users, nearly 1 billion internet subscribers, and a digital economy projected to reach 20% of GDP by 2026. E-commerce is expected to reach $325B by 2030.
The consumer opportunity is equally compelling. India’s beauty and personal care market is valued at approximately $31–34B in 2025 and projected to reach $48B by 2034, with roughly 30% of distribution occurring online. Organic and natural products command significant share, reflecting a consumer base that is digitally native and health-conscious.
We are not discovering India. We have been building in India long before it became the obvious choice. As hands-on operators, we scaled seven consumer brands across India while working closely with state governments, gaining deep executional expertise across distribution, regulation, and consumer growth. Through FemTech India, we built operator-led networks, mapped the women’s health ecosystem from the ground up, and developed a rigorous understanding of founder challenges and local market dynamics.
For our LPs, this translates into differentiated sourcing, proprietary early-stage visibility, and the ability to underwrite risk with real operating insight. Our combination of executional experience, founder access, and ecosystem depth creates a durable edge positioning us to identify, support, and scale category-defining companies with cross-border potential.
Industry trends, I am tracking :
Women's Longevity Becomes the Longevity Sector's Fastest-Shifting Focus
The longevity sector historically male-dominated and biohacker-centric is pivoting toward women, with perimenopause and ovarian aging emerging as core focus areas across clinics, wearables, telehealth platforms, and wellness ecosystems. In the US alone, wellness spending exceeds $500B annually and continues to grow, with the majority of consumers actively prioritizing health optimization. We see white space in midlife diagnostics, hormone health platforms, and community-driven longevity ecosystems tailored to women.
Opportunity : White space in midlife diagnostics and hormone health for women validated demand, early entry, asymmetric upside.
L'Oreal Vichy Enters Nutricosmetics with Liftactiv Collagen Supplements
Beauty is converging with healthcare in tangible ways. L'Oréal’s Vichy recently launched Liftactiv Collagen Supplements, expanding from topical skincare into ingestible nutricosmetics. When the world’s largest beauty company moves into ingestible wellness, it validates the structural shift toward clinically supported, inside-out beauty models and creates room for early-stage challengers to build differentiated, science-backed platforms.
Opportunity : Incumbent entry, validation. Startups win with speed and focus. Build differentiated, science-backed platforms serving needs L'Oréal can’t personalize at scale.
Emotional Tech: The next frontier in luxury wellness
Consumers are rejecting optimization culture in favor of nervous system regulation. Somatic release classes, low-stimulation retreats, cortisol-focused supplements, and regulation wearables are surging. 27% of consumers have altered their diets specifically for emotional well-being.
Adaptogenic beverages, magnesium sleep supplements, and pleasure-forward functional foods are the fastest-growing subcategories in wellness. Gen Z and millennials account for over 40% of wellness market spend and are twice as likely to use both natural alternatives and cutting-edge tech simultaneously.
Opportunity: Stress drives modern consumer health spend. Clinically backed solutions for cortisol, sleep, and recovery represent a fast-growing, underpenetrated wellness vertical.
K-Beauty Is Writing the Global Playbook
Olive Young partnered with Gabona for K-beauty distribution in Europe, starting in Poland, promoting private-label brands Bioheal Boh, Bringgreen, and Colorgram. MIIN opened new stores in Italy and Germany, reaching 50 European stores after 63% sales growth. The K-beauty playbook, science-backed formulations, accessible price points, and strong digital communities, is a direct model for US consumer brands expanding into emerging markets.
Opportunity: K-beauty proves that science-backed, affordable, community-driven brands scale globally. The next winners will culturally adapt the K-beauty model for emerging markets.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
We are at the beginning of a decade-long consumer health and wellness wave.The trade corridors are opening. The digital infrastructure is in place. The consumer demand is real and growing.The next generation of category leaders will be those who understand culture and scale across borders.
We’re building at the intersection of global infrastructure consumer economy, culture and emerging markets. Be in the room early. Join the TechThrive Ventures WhatsApp community and be first to hear about our upcoming events and opportunities.
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