AI SaaS startup Astra has officially ceased operations, as announced by CEO and co-founder Supreet Hegde in a LinkedIn post.
The shutdown follows internal differences with co-founder Ranjan Rajagopalan, particularly regarding the company’s growth strategy and execution pace.
Founded in 2023 by IIT-Madras alumni Supreet Hegde and Ranjan Rajagopalan, Astra set out to revolutionize sales workflow automation. Its platform aimed to delegate up to 80% of account executive responsibilities to AI agents, helping enterprises improve deal execution and overall productivity.
Despite gaining early traction with two enterprise clients, Astra faced scaling challenges during its beta phase. The startup encountered slow enterprise sales cycles and resistance from clients hesitant to grant AI agents access to key tools such as Salesforce, Slack, and Google Drive.
Additionally, the rapidly evolving and fragmented landscape of AI agent platforms made adoption more difficult.
Also Read | Software Delivery Startup Heizen Raises $500K Seed Round Led by Titan Capital
Prior to founding Astra, Hegde served as VP of Global Business Development at HyperVerge, while Rajagopalan held roles at Proshort and Google. The company had secured early backing from notable angel investors, including Aravind Srinivas, founder of Perplexity AI, who invested in March 2025.
While Astra’s journey has concluded, Rajagopalan is reportedly working on a new stealth venture. Hegde has yet to announce his next steps.
