What Will be VCs' Next Bet on Tech?
"I believe India is at the start of its industrial decade, where hardtech and IP-led innovation will define global competitiveness," says Ashish Taneja, Founder & CEO, growX
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
India has officially become the fourth-largest economy in the world, crossing the USD 4 trillion mark. It has expanded by 6.5 per cent in FY25, driven by a 7.4 per cent surge in the fourth quarter (January–March) and a revised 6.4 per cent growth in the third quarter (October–December).
"We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy as I speak," BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO of Niti Aayog announced following the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog.
"If we stick to what is being planned and what is being thought through, in 2.5–3 years, we will be the third largest economy," he further added.
While macroeconomic indicators validate India's rise, it's the startup ecosystem that acts as the innovation engine. In Q1 2025 alone, Indian startups raised USD 3.1 billion across 232 deals, a 41 per cent jump from the same period last year. This signals not just recovery but renewed investor confidence, particularly in transformative, high-impact technologies.
But the nature of what excites investors is rapidly evolving.
"We moved away from consumer blitzscale long ago," says Ashish Taneja, Founder & CEO at growX Ventures. "What excites us is deeptech with real-world defensibility—companies building satellites, chips, battlefield AI, and intelligent robotics. These aren't just startups, they're tomorrow's institutions."
The rise of india's industrial decade
India is now entering what many are calling its "industrial decade." Unlike the startup surge of the past that focused on rapid user growth and digital consumer platforms, the next wave will be defined by heavy engineering, core IP development, and national-scale tech missions.
"I believe India is at the start of its industrial decade, where hardtech and IP-led innovation will define global competitiveness," Taneja notes. "The breakout sectors in the next 3–5 years will be space-tech, defence platforms, semiconductors, AI-driven automation, and sustainable materials. And AI won't be a vertical anymore, it'll be the invisible OS powering them all."
Additionally, India's maturing capital environment is now more supportive of patient capital, investments with longer gestation periods, often needed for deep tech and hard science innovations.
Taneja reinforces this view, "I believe India's next global giants won't be built in garages. They'll be built in labs, fabs, and test ranges by founders chasing frontiers, not just funding rounds."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Walmart's Flipkart secures approval for direct lending in India
By Ashwin Manikandan (Reuters) -Walmart's Flipkart has secured a lending licence from the Indian central bank and banking regulator, enabling it to offer loans directly to customers and sellers on its platform, a spokesperson for the company confirmed after Reuters reported the development citing documents and a source. This is the first time the Reserve Bank of India has granted a large e-commerce player in India a non-bank finance company (NBFC) licence, allowing it to lend but not take deposits. Most e-commerce platforms currently offer loans in tie-ups with banks and NBFCs, but a lending licence will enable Flipkart - India's largest e-commerce firm - to lend directly, a more lucrative model for the group. The central bank issued its certificate of registration - a document that officially recognizes a company as an NBFC - to Flipkart Finance Private Limited on March 13. Reuters has reviewed a copy of both the certificate of registration and the approval letter also dated March 13. The approval has not been previously reported. Flipkart, in which U.S. retail behemoth Walmart holds a more than 80% stake, applied for the licence in 2022, according to the central bank's approval letter. The Reserve Bank of India did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. The e-commerce giant may commence its lending operation "in a few months", according to a source aware of the matter who declined to be identified as the talks are private. A final decision on the launch will be subject to the completion of various internal processes such as the appointment of key management personnel and board members and the finalisation of business plans, the source said. Flipkart plans to lend directly to its customers on its popular e-commerce platform and through its fintech app the source said. It may also offer financing to sellers on the platform, they added. At present, the e-commerce giant offers personal loans to customers through tie-ups with lenders such as Axis Bank, IDFC Bank and Credit Saison. Flipkart, last valued at $37 billion in 2024 when it raised $1 billion in a funding round led by Walmart, is shifting its holding company from Singapore to India. Walmart also aims to take the 17-year-old company public. Walmart bought a controlling stake in Flipkart in 2018, which also gave it ownership of PhonePe, a fintech firm also preparing for an IPO. Earlier this year Flipkart's rival Amazon acquired a Bengaluru-based non-bank lender Axio, but the deal is yet to be cleared by the central bank. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Circle (CRCL) Soars 168% in NYSE Debut as Stablecoin Issuer Enters Public Market
Circle (CRCL, Financials) soared 168% on its first day of trading Thursday after the stablecoin issuer priced its long-anticipated initial public offering at $31 per share. The stock opened near $69 and closed at $83.23, briefly rising as high as 200% intraday before multiple trading halts due to volatility. Shares continued climbing in premarket trade Friday, touching $93.50. The offering valued the company at over $16 billion. Circle is the issuer of USDC (USDC-USD), the second-largest U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin behind Tether (USDT-USD), with $60 billion in circulation as of Q1. The firm generates most of its revenue from reserve incomeinterest earned on cash and Treasury bills backing USDC. In the first quarter, Circle posted revenue and reserve income of $578.6 million, up 58.5% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA of $122.4 million. The IPO follows a scrapped SPAC attempt in 2022 and marks one of the strongest debuts in the current wave of crypto-related listings. The listing comes amid renewed bullish sentiment in crypto markets following Donald Trump's re-election and broader corporate adoption of bitcoin treasury strategies. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) recently reached all-time highs above $110,000. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Entrepreneur
2 hours ago
- Entrepreneur
Why Passion Alone Won't Lead to Business Success
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. We've all heard the saying "Love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life." There is a lot of truth packed into this statement. Passion typically lies at the foundation of every successful business. For many business owners, choosing entrepreneurship meant escaping the dull, soulless corporate jobs that simply didn't make them happy. Instead, they wanted to get up every morning and engage in work that was exciting, challenging and meaningful. Building a business from the ground up requires a ton of blood, sweat and tears. The entrepreneurial journey isn't for the faint of heart. Despite the headwinds of starting a new business, passion can be a powerful driving force that propels early growth. There are countless stories of entrepreneurs who created world-class brands by simply chasing what they love. While passion is a critical ingredient in any successful business, it can present challenges when it's the founder's sole focus. At the end of the day, a business must be profitable to survive. This doesn't mean that passion should be cast to the wayside. Instead, entrepreneurs need to be aware that too much passion can create blind spots that hold the business back from achieving strategic growth and maximizing their personal well-being. Related: Passion Alone Is Not Enough to Open a Business 1. Identify your passion traps As humans, we've evolved to desire the pursuit of things that bring us joy and pleasure at all costs. For this reason, it's easy for business owners to selectively focus all of their time, attention and energy toward parts of the business they are most passionate about. The challenge is that not every product or service provides the same amount of value to the business. If your business isn't as profitable as you think it should be, it may be that you are falling into a passion trap. To solve this, create a matrix of all your products and services. Next to each item, rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 in two categories — passion and profitability. Your rating in the passion column should be based on how much you enjoy working on this product or service or how much fulfillment it brings to your life. The other rating indicates its profitability, scalability and long-term potential from a financial perspective. The items on your list with the highest combined score should be where you double your efforts, since they achieve both objectives. However, products or services that are high on passion but low on profitability are likely passion traps. These might be better reserved for a hobby in your free time rather than a part of your business. 2. Change your financial mindset Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs fall into the endless cycle of aimlessly trying to capture more and more revenue. While this can be great for the bottom line, it can create a lot of stress and pressure on the business owner. They end up focusing entirely on the financial side of the business and neglect the side of the business that builds excitement and purpose for the entrepreneur, which can lead to stress, burnout and loss of motivation. Instead of the mindless pursuit of money, reframe your business's financial goals in terms of supporting your desired lifestyle. This gives you something more tangible and rewarding that's tied to the financial success and strategic growth of your business. For example, maybe you started the business with the intention of having a better work-life balance, but the growing business now demands that you work 80 hours a week. An alternative mindset would be to focus on allocating some of your growing revenue to hiring a general manager to take work off your plate so you can spend more time with your family. When you tie your increased profit to your personal lifestyle goals, it makes achieving them more meaningful. Related: What Part Does Passion Play in Your Success as an Entrepreneur? 3. Strategic delegation and outsourcing Many businesses are started because they leverage the strength or passion of the founder. This can be a powerful driving force in designing amazing products and building excitement with customers around the brand. The challenge is that this can also be a distraction for the business owner. There are numerous critical tasks that must be completed in order to keep the business in operation, such as accounting, payroll processing, record keeping, legal compliance and inventory management. If the entrepreneur is too focused on only the tasks that bring passion, the business could struggle operationally. The real test is when the business has grown so much that the entrepreneur no longer has any time left to work on the exciting parts of the business. This can cause the business owner to lose their passion entirely or begin to resent the business. To solve this, it's a good idea to outsource or delegate non-passion tasks to others. This is a win-win as it ensures the business operates smoothly while also freeing up the founder's time to do more of what they love to do. 4. Segment your schedule Passion and profit are two very important sides of the same coin. Focusing too much on the business operations itself can stifle creativity and the passion that allows for the creation of new products, keeping the business owner engaged and driving excitement within the team. On the other hand, leaning too heavily into passion can damage your ability to operate the business effectively and stunt your growth. It's a catch-22. As a business owner, you have to be mindful to balance your time carefully between the two. A good practice is to schedule intentional blocks of time dedicated to CEO activities and others for more creative outlets. Related: Why We Balance Passion With Reason Passion is a must-have attribute for any entrepreneur. However, unchecked passion can be a recipe for disaster. When used correctly, it can be an amazing catalyst for growth. As an entrepreneur, it's important to strike the right balance to avoid unintended consequences of burnout, financial instability, stress and lack of joy from blindly chasing passion projects.
