Dukaandari to deep tech: Why Indian founders must dream beyond B2C

B2C is transforming India’s consumer economy. But our real test lies elsewhere: in building the deep tech ecosystems that will define the future.

When recently the head of one of India’s top business families bemoaned the lack of interest among the next generation in building enduring businesses, many sat up and took notice. There were op-eds in leading business dailies.

I would argue that another aspect of how India is changing is that a new generation of entrepreneurs – with no ties to the old business families – is ready to step in and build new businesses.

Rising from India’s young startup ecosystem, these entrepreneurs will build not only for India, but they will also establish a new generation of Indian multinational companies – in the age of technology. And you know that the time is ripe for such a transformational wave to wash over the nation when one of its top ministers compares our entrepreneurial efforts to those in the US and China and points out that we lag desperately in areas such as deep tech.

For me as an founder-turned-VC-investor, Minister Piyush Goyal’s recent remarks represent nothing short of a clarion call for our startup founders and investors to step up and deliver the ecosystems needed for building globally competitive deep tech products.

Our B2C and SaaS Achievements Are Just the Start

Of course let’s not downplay the phenomenal achievements of companies such as Flipkart, Swiggy and Meesho – B2C successes such as this country has never seen before. And who can predict what the manthan of quick commerce will yield five years from now? They all are creating jobs for many, and beginning to deliver on the promise of a consumer market innovation revolution in which the best is surely yet to come.

Similarly, on the enterprise software front, we have companies such as Zoho, Freshworks, and Icertis to look up to. However, the minister’s comments hit a nerve, reflecting a deeper truth we must confront: We need to do whatever it takes to wrest a seat at the table of the global tech leaders.

I would submit that the answer to the minister’s challenge to our entrepreneurs does not lie in recounting the impact of what our B2C startups have already achieved. It lies in recognising that supporting every deep tech product or platform that’s admired around the world today is a massive ecosystem that’s taken a concerted effort involving all stakeholders, governments included, to build over a period spanning decades.

The lesson for us, then, is that building world-class technology products involves building those ecosystems in India too.

The Next Chapter: Building Ecosystems, Not Just Apps

The next chapter in the story of Indian startups must be about building ecosystems — interconnected platforms, technologies, and value networks that don't just capture market share but create new ones and reshape industries.

There are indeed lessons to be learnt from America and China, as the minister pointed out. And from Japan, South Korea, Israel and so on – the historical circumstances might differ, but in each case, the rise of ecosystems supported the rise of category dominating companies. Or why would Google’s parent Alphabet agree to pay $32 billion for the Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz.

Let’s look at the US a bit. Pick any starting point, from America’s war efforts (during World War II) or its response to Russia (the then Soviet Union) getting to space first. Or even go as far back as the late 18th century onwards into the 19th century with inventions such as the steamboat and the light bulb.

Investments in scientific research helped create useful tech products which in turn spawned entire ecosystems and the positive feedback of the economic activity involved in all of that. A case in point is how America’s space and defence programmes helped the rise of its semiconductor chip industry to the point that those chips eventually reached every household.

Today, in the age of cloud computing and AI, we are all very familiar with businesses such as AWS, Nvidia and OpenAI that multiple industries are now critically dependent on.

Similarly, China’s rise from a nation whose manufacturers made cheap toys to a global tech powerhouse with high-end electric cars is well known. It is also a force to be reckoned with in areas ranging from cloud computing to AI chips for smartphones to 5G telecom and hypersonic missiles.

And we all admire the scale of the ecosystems built by Alibaba and Tencent and the infinite possibilities that such scale enables.

Such advances are interconnected – the rise of one ecosystem can rub off or even directly benefit another, like when America’s early semiconductor entrepreneurs at Fairchild Semiconductors recognized that real scale would come from cheap chips for the civilian market, and not from costly ones for the US Air Force.

That initial support from the government was crucial, but the civilian expansion made America a semiconductor innovation powerhouse, as Chris Miller points out in his seminal book Chip Wars.

The key insight for our entrepreneurs is that ecosystem builders don't just sell to users. They enable other builders. For that reason, ecosystems are the true products that any entrepreneur can aspire to.

Early Green Shoots in India: A New Momentum

India cannot yet match the US or China in scale of investment, but green shoots are sprouting:

• In space tech, startups like Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Bellatrix Aerospace, and Digantara Research are already pushing the frontiers post-Chandrayaan 3.
• In semiconductors, the RISC-V ecosystem led by IIT Madras is nurturing players like Incore Semiconductors and Mindgrove Technologies.
• In biotech, initiatives like C-CAMP are enabling tech translation from academia.
• In IP generation, India recorded the fastest patent application growth (+15.7%) globally in 2023, marking five straight years of double-digit increases.

This is momentum, but we must accelerate it dramatically.

The Founder Mindset for the Next Decade

In the AI era, ecosystems will likely matter even more, because if AI accelerates commoditisation of an increasing number of technologies or solutions, if you're just another app or tool builder, you will be replaced — quickly and brutally. However, an ecosystem might endure if it’s one that supports developer networks, data and feedback loops, standards and platforms, and derives the power of compounding.

Areas that present massive opportunities for our entrepreneurs include AI infrastructure, healthcare systems – think Epic Systems for India – the next phase of fintech for underwriting, credit infrastructure, compliance tools and so on, climate tech and energy transition for India, and education credentialing and assessment platforms. To tap these opportunities, founder mindset needs to evolve

From "capturing users" → to "creating value chains"

From "how big is my market?" → to "how do I expand the market?"

From "scaling my app" → to "building platforms others depend on"

Practical focus:

• Access cutting-edge research early.
• Design modular, extensible products.
• Build developer and partner ecosystems from day one.
• Think standards, interoperability, and open architectures.
• Prioritize real network effects and data-driven feedback loops — not vanity metrics.

Seize the India@2047 Moment

Despite having over 5.5 million developers, India still lacks thriving, self-sustaining innovation ecosystems where products are collaboratively built and scaled rapidly. Initiatives like People+AI, backed by Nandan Nilekani, are rare exceptions — but they show what’s possible.

Too often, we build for foreign platforms instead of nurturing our own. Imagine the future if Indian developers, entrepreneurs, and investors came together to create thriving domestic ecosystems — across AI infrastructure, healthcare systems, fintech infrastructure, energy transition, and education technology.

If India is to realize its dream of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047, it won't be through B2C alone. It will be through building keystone ventures and platforms that endure beyond funding cycles — reshaping industries and birthing new ones.

A Final Call to Indian Founders

The question for every founder today is simple:

Can I be one of the giants on whose shoulders India's next generation will stand — as we build the India of 2047?

The world is waiting for the next era-defining platforms. Why not from India? Why not from you?