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India’s deeptech ecosystem is brimming with potential—but unlocking it won’t be instant. At the inaugural Prosus Luminate event, entrepreneurs Kunal Shah, Mukesh Bansal, and Shradha Sharma explored how the country’s real advantage lies in compounding talent, ideas, and markets.
From artificial intelligence to quantum computing, robotics, space tech, and biotech, India is nurturing nearly 4,000 deeptech startups. Global VC attention is following: cumulative investments hit $590 billion in 2023, with India’s deeptech funding growing 78% year-on-year. Yet, despite the numbers, challenges remain: funding gaps, limited industry-academia collaboration, and a need for patient capital.
What’s Holding India Back?
The panel, titled ‘Digital Dharma – Charting India’s path to tech superpower startups’, tackled this head-on.
Shradha Sharma pointed out that, despite landmark moves like the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act 2023 and the IndiaAI Mission, India still lags in the global deeptech race.
Mukesh Bansal agreed: “OpenAI began in 2015. GPT breakthroughs happened in 2021. If India had focused on deeptech earlier, we might be closer to the frontlines today.”
Yet both founders remain optimistic. India has one-fourth of the world’s AI engineers and chip designers. The challenge isn’t talent—it’s creating supportive ecosystems, access to markets, and patience for long R&D cycles. Bansal estimates India could unlock its full potential in five years if these conditions improve.
Kunal Shah added a cautionary note: focusing on global comparisons can mislead. Instead, India should aim to incrementally improve deeptech capabilities by 20–30%, letting compounding effects drive the rest.
Is Funding the Real Problem?
Funding is growing: Indian deeptech startups raised $1.6 billion in 2024, and the government has launched initiatives like a Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds and #100DesiDeepTechs.
Bansal, however, highlighted a bigger issue: early-stage funding is available, but sustaining Series B and C rounds, and accessing global markets, remain challenges. Deeptech startups face long R&D cycles, competing with trillion-dollar incumbents.
Shah agreed: “Capital will follow, but only if businesses demonstrate traction, growth, and a clear roadmap.” Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi emphasized the importance of thinking big and exponential, noting India is one of Prosus’s top three focus ecosystems.
Longevity Over Short-Term Growth
The discussion shifted to scalability and staying power. Shah reminded the audience that, while India is a $4 trillion economy, true lasting impact comes from profit and longevity, not just valuations.
Bansal echoed this: “We need to celebrate $1 billion in profit, not just revenue or funding. Longevity is the real measure of success.” He argued that VC cycles are too short for deeptech—these startups require long-term vision and patient capital.
Shah and Bansal also stressed the importance of raising per-capita income and retaining talent to ensure ambitions are not limited by market constraints. India’s young demographic and consistent GDP growth, they agreed, will fuel future compounding effects.
Final Thought: Compounding Talent, Ideas, and Markets
India’s deeptech journey isn’t about rushing—it’s about building the right foundations, nurturing talent, and letting ideas grow.
For entrepreneurs, the takeaway is simple: focus on building strong, lasting businesses. Funders will follow, but success comes from execution, persistence, and patience.
India has the talent, the ideas, and the markets. Now it just needs the time to let them compound.
