National Startup Day 2025: Indian Startups Set Sights on AI and Global Expansion

National Startup Day: EaseMyTrip's RIkant Pittie Calls For Sharper Focus On AI Infrastructure

EaseMyTrip founder Rikant Pittie told Inc42 that such policies are not only driving growth but also inspiring entrepreneurs With the fourth edition of the National Startup Day this week, there is a lot to unpack, from achievements of the Indian startup ecosystem to the "to-do list" for the next few years. Since the unveiling of Startup India back in 2015, the ecosystem has seen a tremendous jump in the number of startups as well as funding, with the number of recognised startups now nearing the 1.6 Lakh mark. The centre has evidently been bullish on bolstering the growth of these startups with various initiatives, facilitating startups with funds, simplified compliance and collaboration. These initiatives include the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with an allocation of $1.4 Bn to boost early-stage fundings, followed by Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. Discussing the role of policies in transforming the Indian startup landscape, EaseMyTrip founder Rikant Pittie told Inc42, "Together, these policies are not only driving growth but also inspiring entrepreneurs to build a brighter, innovation-driven future." He added that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognition for startups has also contributed in this growth trajectory by "simplifying compliance, offering tax benefits, and fast-tracking intellectual property rights, allowing startups to prioritise innovation. Looking Ahead, This National Startup Day The past decade has seen policy frameworks shaping the journey of Indian startups. In the Union Budget of 2024-25, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman abolished angel tax, finally clearing a big hurdle for Indian startups. Besides this, the government has looked to encourage investments in spacetech, semiconductors and AI development in 2024. While all these policies and even the ones from previous years have strengthened the startups in India, there are many challenges which stand unanswered. Pittie told Inc42 that startups in India continue to face compliance burdens which hinders their growth. Indeed, one of the core objectives of the Startup India mission is to reduce the compliance burden, but startups continue to face such challenges, even as they laud government efforts, including the National Startup Day. Talking about the necessary policy changes, Pittie added, "A key priority is streamlining regulatory frameworks. Simplifying regulations and reducing compliance burdens will allow startups to operate more efficiently." Additionally, the EaseMyTrip CEO put emphasis on sector-specific funding programs. It is pertinent to note that in 2024, the central government focused on empowering sectors like deeptech and spacetech by allocating funds, liberalising FDI policy and planning to launch sector-specific policies. With initiatives like Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), startups have got an opportunity to expand their customer base and collaborate with a government-backed product. "Policymakers should also encourage public-private partnerships to build robust ecosystems for startups. Events like the ONDC Startup Mahotsav highlight how collaboration can unlock opportunities and support growth," added the EaseMyTrip cofounder. Safeguarding Indian Tech With Infrastructure Majority of the Indian startups capitalise on their tech. As per the Inc42's 'Indian Tech Startup Funding Report 2024', homegrown tech startups bagged more than $12 Bn in funding during the year. These startups are not only promoting competition amongst themselves but are also challenging the tech majors across the world. Pittie shares that these startups need more funding and supportive infrastructure to keep them rooted in India. Last year, US-based chip giant Nvidia announced a partnership with Reliance to build AI infrastructure in India. Additional government push on infrastructure will enable tech companies to stay competitive at a global level by "more grants, tax breaks, and procurement incentives." While such ẻnablement can help startups in overcoming many barriers and safeguarding their innovation, India is also putting efforts in establishing itself as a manufacturing player to avoid dependency on other countries. Promoting local manufacturing by incentivising design and research within the country, could reduce reliance on foreign tech, Pittie said. For instance, a few days earlier, commerce minister Piyush Goyal announced the launch of the 'Bharat Cleantech Manufacturing Platform' to unify stakeholders from private and public sectors. Apart from core tech, EaseMyTrip founder highlights the importance of maintaining a balance between AI innovation and data protection. He recommends a risk-based regulatory framework for AI which promotes transparent and explainable AI systems. On the other hand, Pittie strongly believes that "a solid data governance framework will safeguard user privacy while supporting AI growth."

National Startup Day 2025: Time To Take Indian Deeptech Global, Says Moglix CEO Rahul Garg

Startup India was the beginning of the revolution, and this National Startup Day can be a great stage to announce India's ambitions, the Moglix CEO added India's National Startup Day -- one of the only national red-letter days for tech startups anywhere in the world -- was brought in as yet another measure by the government to celebrate and recognise the talent and innovation in India's tech ecosystem. This week, on January 16, 2025, India will celebrate the fourth National Startup Day, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022 to mark six years of the Startup India initiative. Since the launch of Startup India in 2016, India has witnessed an upsurge in recognised startups, with the tally standing at 1.6 Lakh today from a mere 400 startups in 2016. Today, India is the world's third-largest startup ecosystem, with a total of over $151 Bn infused in startups by global and domestic investors in the past decade. In 2025, it's time to catapult Indian startups to the next stage, and one area that everyone is excited about is the deeptech opportunity, including Moglix founder and CEO Rahul Garg, who believes that India is in a unique position to capitalise on this wave. "The ambitions are becoming bigger and bolder - not just limiting to the India market but competing in the highest end of technology and in terms of playing into the global market," he told Inc42 ahead of the National Startup Day 2025. Garg believes that India is on the cusp of a major paradigm shift and this will be a much bigger opportunity than anything before. He added that there is a shift in mindset -- the focus on Indian consumers and businesses in the past few years has now turned to becoming ready for the global deeptech market. The Time For Startups To Go Global Founded in 2015, Moglix is a B2B ecommerce marketplace for industrial supplies of power tools, motors, medical supplies, among others. The startup entered the unicorn club in 2021 and has raised a total funding of $470 Mn to date, reporting close to INR 5,000 Cr in revenue in FY23. Having begun as a marketplace for B2B customers, it has also expanded into supply chain financing not only in India but also in parts of North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. With an eye on public listing, Moglix is currently looking to shift its domicile to India. With the domicile shift, Garg claimed earlier, the company will look to make its public market debut in the next two years. And when it comes to the growth of B2B ecommerce in India, Garg credits the government for backing startups for setting up their base in India and also helping them mature. The National Startup Day, which brings focus on Indian entrepreneurs and innovation from all corners of the country, is one way in which this government is carrying the torch forward after Startup India. Besides this, the launch of BHASKAR by the DPIIT has also opened up new avenues for Indian startups. The same is now needed for AI and deeptech and the National Startup Day can be a great stage to announce India's ambitions, Garg said. Indian startups are now close to completing the first phase of maturity and many are closing in on major milestones like going public. "In most of this phase, Indian startups have focussed on India-centric consumer problems, providing different products and services. Going ahead, the focus should be on building global startups from India, particularly in deep technology and data sectors such as AI, robotics, and space," Moglix founder and CEO However, Garg noted that this shift will require a whole lot of strategic planning and the right policy framework, where the government has led by example in the past. The National Startup Day Can Catalyse Deeptech Being a witness to the growth of India's startups since 2015, Garg reflected on the ecosystem's journey where once only a few companies could raise funds to today where there are mainstream TV shows for the same. "When we launched Moglix, maybe five companies had raised $100 Mn cheques. And I think the number of companies which have raised at least $100 Mn today is very large and it's only growing each year." He also recalled the initial scepticism around the ability of the startups to become profitable, go public, or compete with global giants. However, this has now given way to a lot of optimism. A total of 13 new-age tech companies went public in 2024 against five in 2023, and Zomato became the first new-age tech stock to enter the BSE Sensex 30 last year. Garg believes that the government has managed to make the most of the innovative and risk-taking spirit shown by Indian founders through its policies and regulations -- whether it is related to reverse flipping or easing the IPO route. As the nation celebrates National Startup Day 2025, the DPIIT has unveiled its ambitious vision to establish startups in every district of the country by 2025. While startups had a presence in only 120 districts in 2016, today, they have expanded to 750 districts. The department is now looking to have a startup in every district in India, and last year, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal also hinted at the creation of a new Section 8 company to manage the next phase of growth for Indian startups. Enabling Startup Growth In The AI Age The Moglix founder underlined two notable policy interventions needed in this second phase of the startup movement -- capital enablement and crackdown on misuse of new-age technology. Both of these challenges have held back AI innovation in India thus far. When it comes to capital constraints, the Indian deeptech ecosystem has seen some headwinds in the past couple of years. Investors are still firming up their thesis and exit and entry horizons for such companies, and competing with AI giants of Silicon Valley comes at a steep cost. "Deeptech companies typically require a 10-year horizon by the VC or investors. And in most cases, it needs a very large investment as well. So attracting capital, enabling more sovereign funding will be crucial for this leg of the Startup India journey" he stated. Many in the ecosystem have acknowledged the apprehension that comes with the advancements in AI and other frontier technologies. However, the Moglix founder said that while this is true, the silver lining comes in the form of the opportunity to built businesses and create innovation that can tackle these challenges. This can be one of the focus areas for the government this National Startup Day, according to Garg. The Moglix CEO also pointed out that the government needs to be stringent against entities or individuals misusing AI and other deeptech applications out of malice, or to cause panic or harm to consumers or businesses. "I think we saw some of the loan apps, in the last two or three years, where the government took swift action around some of those misusing the data of consumers and things like that," he said, adding that the same is needed for the deeptech ecosystem and to protect innovation. Speaking on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, the Moglix CEO praised the draft but also emphasised that policies should be framed keeping in mind that the technology is evolving every six months.