Founder and CEO, HeyUla · Munich

Two-time founder.
Data scientist.
TEDx speaker.

I'm Vijay Pravin Maharajan: a data scientist turned founder, 3× TEDx speaker, traveller across 52 countries and followed by 500K+ people online. I raised $12M+ for bitsCrunch from Coinbase Ventures, Animoca Brands and Crypto.com Capital, and today I lead HeyUla from Munich.

Founder pass Building now
Portrait of Vijay Pravin Maharajan
Passenger Vijay Pravin Maharajan
RoleFounder and CEO
BaseMunich
RootsTamil Nadu
Countries 52 Raised $12M+
52 countries and counting ✈️
$12M+Raised as a founder from top-tier VCs
2Companies founded
52Countries travelled, building and speaking
3×TEDx speaker
Vijay Pravin Maharajan speaking
Tirunelveli Munich
My story

A police officer's son who keeps building trust into technology.

I grew up in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. My mother was a teacher and my father served in the police force. That mix of curiosity and a strong sense of fairness has shaped everything I've built since.

After engineering at Anna University, I moved to Germany for a Master's at the Technical University of Munich, then spent years as a data scientist and analytics expert at Telefónica, Volkswagen and Siemens.

In the 2021 NFT boom I lost money to fraudulent collections and found no tools to tell real from fake. So I built one. bitsCrunch became "the NFT Police": AI forensics backed by Coinbase Ventures, Animoca Brands and Crypto.com Capital.

Today, as founder and CEO of HeyUla, I'm still doing what I love most: using data and AI to make everyday life simpler, and sharing what I learn along the way across 52 countries and counting.

"Be patient, persevere, and never stop learning. Learning is the key."
Previously · Founder and CEO

bitsCrunch, the NFT police.

A decentralized, AI-powered data network that gave developers, marketplaces and investors reliable, manipulation-free insight into digital assets. These are the backers who boarded.

✈ Departures bitsCrunch · Munich Total raised
FlightBackerRoundStatus
Flagship round · Feb 2022 $3.6M

Oversubscribed private round led by Animoca Brands, with Coinbase Ventures, Crypto.com Capital and Polygon Studios. A CoinList community sale and strategic rounds followed, taking the total past $12M.

Priority · Product 01

UnleashNFTs

"CoinMarketCap for NFTs, with forensics on top." Real-time market data, dashboards and reports across chains.

UNL · MUC
Priority · Product 02

Scour

AI that hunts NFT wash trading. Clients saw a 40% drop within the first two months.

SCR · MUC
Achievements

Stamps collected along the way.

Every founder's passport tells a story. Here are a few of the stamps in Vijay's.

Visas · Visa07
★ RAISED FOR BITSCRUNCH ★ COINBASE · ANIMOCA · $12M+ USD ADMITTED · SPEAKER TEDx × 3 TALKS ARRIVALS 52 COUNTRIES INDIA · DATA SCIENCE TOP 40 UNDER 40 DATA SCIENTISTS TO FOLLOW ★ LINKEDIN ★ 2020 ★ TOP 20
Visas · Visa08
BUNDESREPUBLIK · GERMANY BEST STARTUP CREATOR ECONOMY & NFT WASH TRADING ★ SCOUR ★ IN TWO MONTHS ★ −40% PASSION VISTA · 2021 TOP LEADERS TO LOOK UP TO ACHIEVERS' FORUM HONOREE CHENNAI · MUNICH
Holder Vijay Pravin Maharajan Vijay Pravin
Journey

A career built on data.

From instrumentation engineering to enterprise analytics, Web3 forensics and consumer AI.

  1. Aug 2026 · Present Founder and CEO

    HeyUla

    Leading the company from Munich.

  2. Until 2026 Founder and CEO

    bitsCrunch

    Founded the AI-powered blockchain analytics company in Munich. Raised $12M+ and launched UnleashNFTs, Scour and the bitsCrunch Network.

  3. Analytics Solutions Expert

    Siemens

    Built enterprise analytics solutions and became a global expert in data-driven decision making.

  4. Data Scientist

    Volkswagen AG

    Several years applying machine learning and analytics across one of the world's largest automotive groups.

  5. Data Scientist

    Telefónica Germany

    Turned telecom-scale data into product and business insight.

  6. M.Sc. Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering

    Technical University of Munich

    One of Europe's leading technical universities.

  7. B.E. Electronics and Instrumentation

    Anna University, India

    Scored 90%+ through school and engineering.

Speaking and media

On stage, on air, on the road.

Vijay speaks on AI, data science, consumer AI products and building global startups, from TEDx stages to tech conferences, podcasts and his own YouTube channel.

  • Building consumer AI people actually love
  • From data scientist to two-time founder
  • Fundraising from top-tier VCs
  • AI, trust and the future digital world
Vijay Pravin Maharajan on stage
TEDx3 talks
Countries52
Based inMunich
RootsTamil Nadu
Get in touch

Let's build, travel or talk.

Founders, investors, event organisers and press: drop an email, or join the half a million people already following along.

500K+ followers worldwide across every platform, combined