We need to aim higher: boAt Co-founder Aman Gupta backs Piyush Goyal's remark on Indian startups

ANI April 6, 2025 229 views

India's startup ecosystem is rapidly evolving with ambitious goals set by industry leaders and government officials. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently challenged entrepreneurs to think beyond food delivery and focus on transformative technologies. boAt co-founder Aman Gupta strongly endorsed this perspective, emphasizing the need for global-standard innovation. The discussion highlights India's potential to become a world-leading startup hub by investing in advanced sectors like AI, deeptech, and mobility.

"If you want to build a world-class product, you must know your competition" - Aman Gupta
New Delhi, April 6: Consumer electronics firm boAt's co-founder Aman Gupta has backed Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the need for Indian startups to aim higher and start working on bigger solutions.

Key Points

1

Goyal challenges startups to focus on advanced technologies

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boAt founder advocates for deeper tech innovation

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India aims to elevate startup ecosystem globally

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Benchmarking against international competitors is strategic approach

Drawing a parallel with China, the Union minister on Thursday said Indian startups are working on food delivery apps while Chinese counterparts are working on electric mobility, battery technology, and other future technologies.

The Commerce Minister made these remarks at the just-concluded Startup Mahakumbh.

The minister had suggested that India needs to raise the bar and help prepare for the future of the nation. Goyal supplemented that he had no issue with the startups working on food delivery services but he wants to see more entrepreneurs work on serious problem-solving.

boAt Co-founder Gupta who was in attendance at the Startup Mahakumbh during Piyush Goyal's address took to social media platform to post his comments.

"It's not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger. But at Startup Mahakumbh, that's exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Minister Piyush Goyal isn't against founders. He believes in us. His point was simple: India has come far, but to lead the world...we need to aim higher," Gupta wrote.

"It reminded me of something I say often on Shark Tank India, If you want to build a world-class product, you must know your competition. That applies to India too. Benchmarking against China, the US, or anyone else -- isn't weakness. It's smart strategy. We're already the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world and the fastest-growing major economy," the startup leader said in his X post.

But if India wants to be No.1, Gupta said it needs to also go deep into AI, deeptech, climate, mobility, infra.

"We need LLMs (large language models) and innovation stacks that compete on global standards. And to make that happen, we also need Scientific risk, More patient capital, Founder-policymaker collaboration and a long-term national vision," he added in his X post.

India has about than 1.6 lakh startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). India has the third largest startup ecosystem.

On January 16, 2025, India marked nine years of Startup India, a flagship initiative that began in 2016.

Reader Comments

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Rahul K.
Completely agree with Aman Gupta here! We've made great progress but need to think bigger if we want to compete globally. The focus on AI and deeptech is especially important. 🇮🇳
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Priya M.
While I understand the sentiment, we shouldn't completely dismiss food delivery startups. They've created thousands of jobs and solved real problems. The key is balance - we need both types of innovation.
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Sanjay P.
This is exactly the kind of push we need! Love how Aman Gupta connects this to his Shark Tank philosophy. We need more visionary thinking in our startup ecosystem. 🚀
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Ananya T.
I respect the optimism but we need to be realistic about funding challenges. Many deep tech startups struggle to get investments compared to consumer apps. The ecosystem needs to evolve too.
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Vikram S.
boAt is a great example of an Indian brand going global. If more startups follow their lead, we can definitely compete with China and US in tech innovation. Exciting times ahead!
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Neha R.
The comparison with China is interesting but we should also consider our unique strengths. Our IT services industry is world-class - maybe we should build on that foundation rather than just copying others.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Tags:
Aman Gupta Piyush Goyal Indian Startups boAt Startup Mahakumbh Innovation Technology
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