The central government is gearing up to launch the second phase of the Start-up India program on January 16, which coincides with National Start-Up Day, with a particular emphasis on deep tech start-ups. These start-ups will concentrate on critical areas such as semiconductor chips, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to officials cited by The Economic Times in its report.
The anticipated second phase aims to provide increased support for start-ups, including stable policies and taxation, improved valuation norms, and enhanced research and collaboration opportunities with industry and academia.
The Start-up India program, initiated on January 16, 2016, seeks to establish a robust ecosystem for fostering innovation and start-ups in the country.
The second phase aligns with the government's ongoing efforts to boost growth in the deep tech sector, as reflected in the Draft National Deep Tech Start-up Policy (NDTSP), released for public consultation in July 2023, the report added.
India had fewer than 100 deep tech start-ups before 2014, but this number surged to over 400 start-ups between 2014 and 2023. The sector has become more structured, encompassing sub-sectors such as defence tech, drone tech, space tech, IoT and hardware, and robotic process automation.
Deeptech start-ups leverage advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, cloud computing, machine learning, big data analytics, robotic process automation, Gen AI, and more to address complex global problems with innovative solutions. Despite ongoing funding challenges, the sector has continuously grown, with deep tech start-ups raising $496 million in 2023 compared to $397 million in 2022, according to the news platform Inc42.
Overall, between 2014 and 2023, deep tech start-ups in India have secured over $1.5 billion in funding across 343+ deals, with notable startups including Grey Orange, Smartron, FanCraze, and 5ire, among others.
