Sameer Pendse

Preparation for #NRF2026 with @michellemzhou and @sameer_pendse. Come visit us at Booth 8120 from 11-13th Jan 2026.

Haven't watched a single F1 race in years (or drive to survive either), but a three-way fight in the last race after 15 years is too good to skip. Fun fact: The last 2 times that I watched a three-way fight in the last race (wasn't alive for the one before that), the third guy won. Just saying. I know it's a long shot but still rooting for you @OscarPiastri.

Growing up in a 90s Indian household that celebrated engineers & doctors, creative content development / advertising wasn't exactly on the career menu. So my first glimpse of it as a real job was when Chandler - in a mid-life crisis - tried writing an ad for sneakers he couldn’t relate to. In my defence, Madmen released later. Fast-forward 20+ years…and here I am in my own mid-life (no crisis), crafting brand-ready creative content! Except this time, it’s with AI. Whether we match Chandler’s creativity - the jury's still out. But one thing's clear: our team has the [Tech x AI x Human] muscle to bring any idea to life, no matter how wild or ambitious, in a scalable manner. That’s what we’ve built at Poiro: proprietary AI models and AI editing workflows designed for on-brand content at scale. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹. 𝗜𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵, 𝘄𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆:  • 🚀 Generated TVC-quality brand videos for major consumer brands  • 🌏 Localized hero creatives across Australia, Indonesia, and India  • 🛍️ Built rich product catalogs ready for the AI search + shopping era  • 📄 Produced PDP content for 100+ SKUs for brands All powered by our AI accelerators - and delivered in a fraction of the time that brands are used to. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead as we partner with even more brands. If you are / you know a brand or agency looking to scale creatives with AI while maintaining brand guidelines and product integrity, let’s talk.

Thanks @PlugandPlayTC for bringing together such a vibrant group of founders, operators, corporates and investors. And @michellemzhou for leading me through the event. We had some great memorable meetings! :)

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮 come back saying some version of “AI is already here” or “the energy is something else.” True - every visit is a recharge. You see so many people dreaming boldly and building relentlessly. ⚡️ But this time, being around 500+ founders, operators, and investors at Plug and Play Tech Center Silicon Valley Summit, a few deeper reflections really stayed with me...

𝟰. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 - there was a really cool humanoid by @intbotai at the reception! 🤖

𝟯. 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀. The best pitches were very easy to understand one-line value props. No fluff or moonshots for the sake of it. Just a clear problem, a clear solution, and a clear reason to care. We’ve struggled with this ourselves, but we’re getting better 📌

𝟮. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁. The startups showing genuine traction went narrow but deep - solving one specific user pain point better than anyone else. Depth >> breadth 🎯

𝟭. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽. 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Literally every idea we've debated internally over the past year showed up on stage. Pick any concept - there are a dozen startups already building it. Our only real right to win is executing with focus over a long period of time 🚀

Cometh the hour, cometh Poiro.

R.I.P Traditional Marketing 💀

Some late evening cricket with the team. Our mantra - Lift Weights. Train Weights. @EvamLabs @Propheusai @sachinjose @sameer_pendse @caesarpratap @manojumapathy1