Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

0:00
0:00

India - The 3rd Startup Nation

Since the beginning of the current decade, India’s technology startups have demonstrated impressive growth that has already brought the country to third place in the world only behind the acknowledged industry leaders: the US and Israel.

In today’s India, there are more than 4,200 startups from various fields, including digital (social networks, mobile technologies, analytics, cloud computing), hi-tech (augmented reality, Internet of Things, robotics), and ‘verticals’ where blank spots are identified and solutions are developed for specific areas (education, medicine, finance, advertising).

The startup ecosystem in India is young, innovative, aspirant, and futuristic, and since the beginning of the decade, it has virtually exploded. To put things in perspective, India had only 480 tech startups in 2010. Tech startups by definition include any business in the domain of technology incepted within the last five years, is headquartered in India, or has founding team with Indian origins along with product development largely in India.

Here are some key highlights of the Indian startup industry – and its emerging hotbeds of innovation:


1,200-plus new startups added in 2015;

80,000-85,000 jobs created by startups; greater than 10% growth in last year;

India is the youngest start-up nation in the world – 72% of the founders are less than 35 years old;

~ 50% rise in share of female entrepreneurs in 2015 over 2014, driven by 4.5 times the growth in funding to women-driven startups;

most of these founders, with a strong consumer-centric approach, have come up with some of the best-in-class B2C startups. Women entrepreneurs have also started to leverage the innovation economy;

funding increased by 125%, from $2.2 billion in 2014 to $4.9 billion in 2015; this is much higher compared to the cumulative funding of ~$3.2 billion over the 2010-14 period;

~2.2 times the increase in the number of startups funded in 2015. More than 390 startups have received funding, compared to 179 startups in 2014;
while overall VC/PE funding has grown by 2.2 times over 2014, seed stage VC funding has grown by an incredible 6.5 times;

the total number of active investors has grown by 2.3 times, from 220 in 2014 to 490 in 2015;

the B2C segment dominates, led by e-commerce, health care and aggregators; B2B funding evolves as e-commerce enablers, IoT, and analytics emerge as focus areas;

more than 65% of startups are located in Bangalore, NCR, and Mumbai;

2.3 times the growth in number of active investors; global investors and corporates are betting high on the India market. Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Softbank, Warburg Pincus, and Alibaba are among the top investors, participating mostly in high-value deals worth more than $500 million;

startups are creating a new world of talent; executives from national and international conglomerates are joining top positions at start-up ventures or starting their own ventures.


Driving the Dream


So what is really driving this dream? Increasingly, the number of investors, including global ones, who are parking funds here; a growing digital user base; mobile-first population; and a supportive government that recognizes the role of startups, are clearly some of the top of mind drivers.

This maturing startup ecosystem is contributing to the Indian economy in multiple ways. In addition to enhancing the lifestyle of citizens, startups are creating innovative technology solutions that address key problems that India as a country faces, and are empowering SMBs by enhancing their customer reach and overall business productivity.

The meteoric rise of tech startups and their contribution is unparalleled. This has much to do with the fact that young entrepreneurs are able to think big, and view India’s challenges as billion-dollar opportunities. Power shortage in India lead to an annual loss of $68 billion); impact of infrastructure congestion is estimated at $10 billion; India only has one doctor for 1700 patients; over 120 million rural households do not have access to bank accounts; agricultural productivity is abysmal in India (48% of agricultural yield compared to other Asian countries); and impact of technology will imply a huge skilling challenge in India, with 500 million people required to be skilled in the next five years. A vision that has captured popular mindshare of the startup community is that these challenges, if addressed, can transform the nation beyond recognition.

It is encouraging to see global investors interested in large deals, upward of $500 million. In the B2C segment, hyperlocal e-commerce and aggregators presently command a lion’s share of the pie. But in the B2B segment, especially those in niche segments and providing solutions to the former, are close on the heels. Robotics, 3D printing, and machine learning are the other emerging whitespaces for the future.

The ecosystem is not just cognizant but supportive of this change in equal measure. This is evidenced by the fact that incubators, accelerators, and the like are mushrooming. The triad – academic institutions, the government, and corporate houses – provides support to this part of the value chain admirably, be it physical space or knowledge dissemination. Often, both.


Exits: instilling positivity and confidence


The period from 2014-15 has seen some large exits, instilling positivity and confidence in the investor community. Over 65 acquisitions this year signal a maturing startup ecosystem in India. An improving environment for doing business – these are the main reasons for a rush of venture capital into India over the last two years. Now, there’s another pull factor growing stronger: exits.

Exits, mergers, and acquisitions are important for investors as they help them to reinvest into new startup ventures. Their risk appetite goes up, too, as exits mitigate worries over getting caught up in a valuation bubble. And it is not just the number of exits that matter, but their size, too.

With over 65 M&A deals already in 2015 – worth close to $800 million (which excludes several deals with undisclosed value), – India has shown the signs of positivity and confidence in the global market. More importantly, some of these have been big-ticket exits instilling investor confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Thanks to active government support and the building of the necessary infrastructure, in particular as part of the Start-Up India program, the country’s startup industry is growing at an impressive pace. By 2020, more than 11,500 tech startups would get established in India, generating employment opportunities for over 250,000 people.

Key indicators, such as opportunities existing in the domestic market, access to capital/mentors, increased M&A and consolidation activities, and the increasing digitalization of India clearly point toward the further evolution of the ecosystem.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×