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Mint
08-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
India's Global Startup Surge: Bold Ideas, Twin Engines and the Next Frontier
India is no longer just a startup hub- it's fast emerging as a global innovation powerhouse. In Episode 3 of India for the World, a leadership podcast by Mint and BCG, host Ranjani Raghavan sits down with Rajan Anandan, Managing Director at Peak XV, and Alpesh Shah, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG, to explore how India's startup ecosystem is scaling new heights. From twin-engine innovation and manufacturing-led growth to playbooks for building global-first companies, this conversation offers deep insights into India's expanding global footprint in tech and entrepreneurship. 40% of seed-funded startups in India last year were building for global markets from day one of seed-funded startups in India last year were building for global markets from day one India went from 1 space tech startup in 2014 to 220+ today ; projected to be a top 3 space power by 2030 to ; projected to be a top 3 space power by 2030 27 SaaS unicorns as of 2024; projection of 100+ Saas unicorns by 2030 , including many AI-native as of 2024; projection of , including many AI-native India's Venture capital investments grew from $1 billion in 2010 to $12 billion in 2024 ; projected to grow to $30-40 billion by 2030 . to ; projected to grow to . India has 20-25% of the incremental global future workforce expected over the next two decades. India is among a rare group of three economies, alongside the US and China, driven by a twin-engine model of innovation: building for India and building for the world. India's startup ecosystem has matured well beyond local problem-solving. More than 40% of today's seed-funded ventures are building global-first products, targeting international markets, like the US, right from inception. This marks a new chapter for Indian entrepreneurship. The first wave of Indian innovation, led by IT services, was service-export focused. The current wave is defined by software products, deep tech, and AI-native startups that are product-export focused. As Rajan Anandan notes, India could be home to over 100 SaaS unicorns by 2030, many of them serving global enterprises and consumers. 'Over 40% of startups that we are investing in, and partnering with, at seed stage now are building for the world. So this is a major engine that has started, and it actually goes back to IT services,' said Rajan Anandan. What sets successful global startups apart isn't just product innovation but also founder mindset. The most effective founding teams share one common trait: a razor-sharp understanding of a global customer problem. These teams often include a domain expert who leads product development, and a co-founder who focuses on go-to-market strategy. Rather than retrofitting Indian solutions for overseas markets, these startups are built ground-up for global relevance. And that's a critical shift. Startups that succeed globally don't accidentally land there- they begin with a global hypothesis. As Rajan Anandan notes, succeeding globally requires more than intent or funding. It demands a clear grasp of customer expectations in each market. For instance, US customers tend to prefer focused point solutions that evolve into platforms over time, while Indian customers often expect bundled features from the outset. Founders building for global markets must reframe their product strategy to match these nuances, rather than assume what works in India will automatically translate elsewhere. 'It is about - do they really want to go global and want to go big? India is a large market… it takes a very different thinking and a different mindset to say- Can I operate on both engines?,' explains Alpesh Shah. The discussion also highlights how understanding category creation, customer pain points, and market timing are pivotal for Indian startups entering international markets, especially competitive markets like the US. While software remains a stronghold, India's global startup story is rapidly diversifying. Startups in manufacturing, B2B e-commerce, and deep tech are gaining ground, from JEH Aerospace, which builds for global defence clients, to Ethereal Machines, which exports CNC precision equipment, to many others – the list is long. This momentum is not accidental. With Western economies grappling with labour shortages, and India projected to contribute 20–25% of the world's incremental future manufacturing workforce over the next two decades, the country holds a powerful demographic edge. As Alpesh Shah notes, 'This is not just a market opportunity but a national imperative: creating quality jobs for India's growing youth population.' Combined with the rising cost of manufacturing in traditional hubs and growing global confidence in Indian design and engineering capabilities, startups are now well-positioned to anchor global supply chains. India is also emerging as a credible base for B2B commerce and hardware innovation, building competitive operations that serve clients across the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The vision is clear: India should not just import innovation but also build and export it. As Alpesh Shah notes, going global for Indian startups is similar to that for traditional businesses – certain categories of products / services are more universal in nature and hence easier to export than those that need a lot of localisation. Hence SaaS, B2B, manufacturing, to name a few are seeing a lot more traction. One powerful theme that echoes throughout the conversation is: focus on building a product that customers love and value. At the core of every successful global startup is a product/ offering that solves a real problem, exceptionally well. Whether it's an AI tool empowering content creator, an Indian toy brand now stocked in major US retailers, or legal-tech platforms automating complex research, the winning formula starts with wow-worthy utility and user delight. As Rajan Anandan puts it, great startups aren't created by branding budgets, but by 'insane consumer love.' In many cases, word-of-mouth marketing trumps paid promotions, especially in early-stage growth. Branding follows functionality, not the other way around. Founders are advised to focus obsessively on user experience and iterate until their product speaks for itself. The episode closes with practical advice for India's next generation of founders: Build for scale, not just survival Choose global markets strategically, whether that's the US, Middle East, or Southeast Asia Stay persistent through uncertainty and slow growth periods The path from startup to global scale-up is rarely linear, but the opportunity has never been bigger. With the right mix of talent, ambition, and execution, Indian startups are poised to not just compete, but lead, on the world stage. As Shah and Anandan both emphasise, this is India's time to turn innovation into global impact. From IT services to SaaS, and now to AI and manufacturing, India is writing a bold new chapter- one startup at a time. Note to readers: This article is part of Mint's paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy. Want to get your story featured as above? click here!
Mint
02-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Forging a 21st-Century Green Superpower: India's Renewables, Storage, and Hydrogen Revolution
In a no-holds-barred assessment of India's transition to green energy, Mahesh Kolli, Founder and Group President,Greenko Group, and Vishal Mehta, India Leader, Energy Practice at BCG, chart India's pathway to building a low-carbon economy and achieving energy self-reliance. Their conversation is featured in Episode 2 of the India for the World podcast by Mint and BCG, which delves into India's ambitious energy transition goals, including the pursuit of 500 GW of renewables by 2030, the promise of green hydrogen, and the critical role of energy storage. Let's start with the good news: with hundreds of gigawatts of solar and wind potential spread across the country, and a robust, unified power-grid network (the third largest in the world), India has all the ingredients to scale low-carbon energy rapidly. In 2024 alone, the country installed more than 28 GW of solar and wind capacity, the third-highest addition worldwide, cementing its place as a global leader in the energy transition. What lies ahead is the chance to redefine India's role in the global energy value chain. For India, building on this strong foundation and moving from spending $250 billion on fossil-fuel imports to becoming a global supplier of low-carbon energy calls for a three-pronged approach. Integrating almost 400 GW of intermittent renewables—solar and wind—means synchronising generation with demand. Unlike conventional sources, solar and wind output fluctuates hourly and seasonally. India already experiences a 20–30 percent gap between daily peak and baseload demand, and similar swings across the year. Balancing these variations will require a portfolio of storage solutions. Rather than betting on a single technology, India must evaluate and deploy each option for the task at hand—for example, lithium-ion batteries for short-duration balancing, pumped-hydro for medium-term storage, and emerging long-duration chemistries for seasonal shifts. Keeping a system-level target of about INR 5/kWh for renewable-energy-plus-storage costs will mark the tipping point at which coal power can give way to intermittent renewables. India's vast solar potential—and well-honed execution capabilities—has made solar the hero of its renewables story, but grid stability demands equal emphasis on other low-carbon sources. First, wind capacity must keep pace, supplying complementary generation during non-solar hours. Second, innovative nuclear technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), can provide the firm baseload needed for a low-carbon power system. The Indian government's new target of 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047, along with the marquee decision to involve private players, can bring the same capital, technical know-how, and execution speed that catapulted solar. While storage and new low-carbon generation underpin energy self-reliance, green hydrogen can turn India from an energy importer into an exporter. This is underpinned by India's large annual consumption of Hydrogen which exceeds six million tonnes (already larger than that of Western Europe) and offers stable demand to de-risk projects. India's deep technological and operational expertise in derivatives such as ammonia and methanol will enable faster roll-out of large-scale integrated plants. With the National Green Hydrogen Mission kickstarting India's green hydrogen revolution by bringing down the cost of domestic green hydrogen to $2-3/ kg, India stands at the cusp of a unique opportunity to not only displace $15-20 billion of LNG imports, but to also establish itself as a supplier of low-carbon molecules, ergo low-carbon energy, to regions such as Japan, Korea and Europe. To sum up, India's energy sector is poised to embody 'Local for Global,' strengthening the nation's status as an indispensable trade partner worldwide. Indian businesses and the government must act now to seize this opportunity and lay the foundation for a green "Vishwaguru Bharat'. Note to readers: This article is part of Mint's paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy. Want to get your story featured as above? click here!
