India’s Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, has ignited a debate by questioning whether Indian start-ups should continue focusing on lifestyle products like gluten-free ice creams and food delivery apps, or shift their attention to high-tech innovations such as semiconductor chips.
During a recent start-up conference, Goyal pointed out that while India is experiencing a consumer internet boom, it has lagged behind countries like China in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). He urged entrepreneurs to look beyond “safe” ventures and pursue more ambitious technological advancements.
While acknowledging India’s position as the third-largest start-up ecosystem globally, Goyal faced resistance from founders who argued that consumer-focused apps often evolve into tech pioneers. Quick-commerce CEO Aadit Palicha highlighted that companies like Amazon began as consumer platforms but went on to revolutionize industries such as cloud computing.
However, investors admitted that deep-tech ventures often struggle to secure funding, with most capital gravitating toward quick-return consumer businesses rather than long-term hardware or AI projects.
This debate underscores the challenges facing India’s innovation landscape. Despite boasting 4,000 deep-tech start-ups, a number expected to grow to 10,000 by 2030, these companies attracted just 5% of the funding in 2023, a stark contrast to China’s 35%.
Experts suggest that the Indian government could play a pivotal role in fostering deep-tech growth by offering tax incentives and facilitating stronger research collaborations between academia and start-ups. These measures, they argue, could help India compete on the global stage in advanced technologies and shift the focus from consumer-oriented products to cutting-edge innovations in hardware and AI.
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