Everyone knows meditation, but not many are doing it: Andy Puddicombe, cofounder, Headspace

The irony of talking about meditation in India is not lost on Andy Puddicombe, the celebrated cofounder of meditation and mindfulness startup Headspace.

“Arguably, India is the birthplace of meditation. But it’s interesting that in the West, it was seen as a fad. If it is one, it’s one that has lasted for 2,000-3,000 years,” Puddicombe said at The Economic Times Global Business Summit in Delhi on Friday.

“As I’ve travelled around India the last couple of weeks, it’s really exciting… everybody knows what meditation is and (what) its benefits are, but not that many people are doing it,” he added.


The monk-turned-tech entrepreneur was addressing the gathering less than three weeks after Headspace announced its entry into Asia’s third-largest economy. A formal date of launch, however, has yet to be announced.

“The world that we are living in has become increasingly divisive. There is a lot of conflict, internally and externally. Mental illness is increasing in spite of us being increasingly connected,” Puddicombe pointed out.

The 47-year-old, who spent more than a decade training to be a Buddhist monk across India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand and Australia, was ordained as one at a Tibetan monastery, according to his biography on the Headspace website.

Founded in 2010 in London, Headspace has emerged as a global leader in the meditation and mindfulness segment, competing with the likes of Calm and Inscape. Initially launched as an events company in London, it was only in 2012 that Puddicombe launched the Headspace app.

The entrepreneur has also written three books — Get Some Headspace, The Headspace Diet and The Headspace Guide to...a Mindful Pregnancy.

The California-headquartered company announced last month a $93-million fundraise.

Its investors include Times Bridge, the global investments and partnership arm of the Times Group, which also publishes The Economic Times; growth stage investment firm Blisce, Waverly Capital, the Chernin Group, Spectrum Equity and Advancit Capital.

Headspace also works with some of the world’s largest corporates, including 20% of the top-50 companies, according to Puddicombe. Additionally, the company has also set up a health-tech subsidiary that is creating a new prescription meditation app.

“We have had over 70 clinical trials and about 25 published papers where we actually know. We can say it’s been tested in a controlled environment… Meditation can reduce stress, anxiety, depression,” Puddicombe said.