Building The India Portfolio #9 – Talk to the Directory: The Leap to Natural Language Search

Are you tired of navigating complex filter interfaces? Now you can find exactly the companies you need just by asking in plain English.

In our earlier feature rollouts, we rolled out comprehensive search modes for VC/PE funds, including searching by their straregy, sectors invested in and by name. We had also got the look-up-peers for companies as a quick look up of similar companies. Now in tune with the AI age, here comes our Natural Language (NL) Search for companies. Discover VC/PE backed companies using simple English phrases. Just ask -

• "Rooftop solar companies in India"
• "peers of Emergent"
• "competitors of shiprocket"
• "agricultural drones"

Our natural language search is not RAG based at all, neither is it some vector search on the database - it is different, it is unique. Albeit still experimental, as it gets built ground up.

Introducing Natural Language (NL) Search for Companies.

The Evolution of Search: From Filters to Conversations

Traditional search interfaces have served us well, but they often come with a steep learning curve. Finding "SaaS companies that do cyberintelligence" shouldn't require navigating five different dropdowns or mastering complex Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT).

Traditional systems are bound by predefined fields. If you want to search by a combination of factors the designers didn't anticipate, you're usually out of luck.

But what if you could just talk to your data?

With our new AI-powered search, you can. No filters. No SQL. No learning curve. Just ask.

• "Rooftop solar companies in India"
• "peers of Emergent"
• "competitors of shiprocket"
• "agricultural drones"

How It Works: Understanding Intent, Not Just Keywords

Our system doesn't just look for words; it understands intent. It acts as a semantic router that bridges the gap between your natural language and our comprehensive database of 5,000+ companies.

1. Intent Recognition & Entity Extraction: The system analyzes your query to understand what you're looking for. It identifies specific company names, sectors, and product concepts automatically.
2. Entity-Anchored Results: If you search for "Peers of [Company Name]," the platform identifies that entity and smartly surfaces sector peers and semantic peers - companies that do the same thing but might be classified differently. The secret sauce here is our taxonomy.
3. Hierarchy Navigation: If you ask for "AgriTech," the search intelligently "umbrellas" the entire category, including sub-niches like soil health testing or crop monitoring.
4. Fuzzy Matching & Synonyms: The engine is context-aware. It understands that "AI" semantically aligns with "Artificial Intelligence" or "Machine Learning."

How Can You Benefit from this Natural Language Search feature?

• for VC/PE funds: Quickly identify investment opportunities that match a specific, niche thesis.
• for Corporate Development Teams: Identify potential acquisition targets and analyze competitive landscapes in seconds.
• for startups: Research competitors and find potential strategic partners in specific domains.
• for Market Researchers: Discover niches and market gaps that haven't been categorized into formal sectors yet.

The Deal-Making Platform for the AI Era

The India Portfolio is evolving. We are constantly putting together the pieces of the data and deals layers incorporating the latest in AI to build out India's finest deal making platform.

Ready to explore our Natural Language search? Sign In and navigate to the Companies Directory and try your first natural language search today.