Narrative Violations: The Portkey GTM Story
Join us for a conversation with Vrushank Vyas, who led GTM at Portkey from the very first sale to the company's acquisition, join us as he unpacks how Portkey built its go-to-market motion through what he calls "narrative violations" — and what it takes to sell AI infra from India to the world.
Portkey is an AI gateway and observability platform that helps companies deploy, manage, and govern LLMs in production. From open-source roots to enterprise traction to an acquisition by one of the largest cybersecurity companies in the world, Portkey's GTM journey is a masterclass in counter-intuitive thinking — going multi-channel from day 0, refusing to brand the OSS project as a separate identity, and investing in initiatives that didn't generate immediate leads or revenue, but compounded over time.
This conversation will unpack:
Going multi-channel from day 0 — and why the "pick one channel, dominate it" advice can be a trap for AI infra
Running GTM for an OSS-first product without splitting brand identity between the open-source project and the company
Why initiatives that generate zero leads or revenue can still be the highest-leverage bets
Selling AI infra to developers and enterprises in parallel, in a market where the buyer changes every six months
Navigating an acquisition: what changed inside Portkey on the road to Palo Alto Networks
The advantages of being a first-time GTM leader — going into channels with fresh eyes, unconstrained by what "usually works"
Who should attend?
Founders building AI infra, dev tools, or OSS-first companies
Early GTM hires, first sales reps, and founding AEs at AI startups
PMM, growth, and DevRel folks figuring out how to position infra products
Operators and investors tracking the AI infra category and India → global GTM motions
Event Flow:
5PM - Doors open 5:30PM-6:45PM - Fireside chat with Q&A 6:45PM-8PM - Networking & High Tea
Note: We'd appreciate if everyone is seated in the auditorium by 5:15 PM latest so we can begin on time!
📅 Date & Time: 15th May 2026
📍 Location: Together Fund