‼️India’s deeptech startup sector, while nascent, is seeing several startups a hop, skip and jump away from commercialising their products.
‼️‼️And influential decision-makers are taking notice—from experienced venture capital investors to government technocrats at the highest level.
‼️‼️As a nation, we also need to talk a lot more about the work our top deeptech-focussed academic institutions are doing so that a broader audience is aware of their efforts.
‼️‼️Some of these institutions include the IIT-Madras Research Park, IIT-Bombay’s Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (formerly the Society for Innovation and Development) at the Indian Institute of Science, the Venture Center in Pune, C-CAMP in Bengaluru, and in general the work done by the Department of Biotechnology’s BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council).
‼️‼️Unlike general tech, deeptech innovations usually emerge from a lab. Founders are either doctorates or research scientists or simply have deep technical expertise.
‼️‼️Over the last 18-24 months, it is exciting to see many such founders starting up and pursuing innovations that could transform industries.
‼️‼️Add to it the robust government support and favorable policies, and we now have an ideal ecosystem for deeptech innovation across sectors – advanced manufacturing, green tech, biosciences, quantum computing, semiconductors, and space tech.
‼️‼️However, are there issues leading to a one step forward, half a step backward approach?
‼️‼️In my view, if the solutions are known when one is starting a company and it is more about hiring the best talents, following up, and implementing the latest innovations and practices, it may NOT quality as deep-tech.
‼️‼️India needs to adopt the ‘Triple Helix Model’ or bring in collaboration between academia, industry, and the government.
⭕️⭕️Simply put, India needs to move beyond being a low-cost assembly destination to become an innovation partner.
⭕️⭕️President Trump’s latest message to Apple is a wake-up call. Relying on PLI schemes to prop up “shallow assembly lines” is a short-term game.
⭕️⭕️The real win lies in fostering an environment where the next Nvidia, Qualcomm, Broadcom, or even a semiconductor fab, isn’t just operating but also innovating from India.
✅️✅️India has the capability to be an indispensable part of the global tech value chain, not just a low-cost stopover.
Do feel free to add comments which would increase our collective knowledge.
