Startup Mahakumbh: Deeptech Pavilion To Showcase Innovations, Foster Collaboration

The deeptech pavilion at the Startup Mahakumbh, which will bring together startups, investors, incubators, accelerators and industry leaders from various sectors under one roof, will give Indian startups in the sector to showcase their innovations. 

The event, which will be held from March 18-20 in New Delhi, is being organised by ASSOCHAM, Nasscom, Bootstrap Incubation & Advisory Foundation, TiE, and the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA). 

Supported by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the event will host 10+ thematic pavilions. Deeptech would be one of these pavilions and would showcase 34 startups from the sector. The pavilion would be led by Nasscom.

 “India has the strength of a young population, strong talent and a lot of interesting problems that instigate thinking minds. However, the current ecosystem is nascent, with approximately 3K startups in the space. How do we raise this from 3K to 10K by the end of this decade? To truly progress towards becoming a global leader, these startups must be inventive and devise patentable solutions,” said Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh. 

Commenting on the potential of the sector and the importance of the deeptech pavilion, Ghosh said, “Deeptech has the potential to profoundly propel India’s growing digital economy by creating a seismic transformation across all facets of the nation’s narrative. The pavilion will enable the country’s deeptech startups to engage with the ecosystem, offering them a valuable platform to exhibit groundbreaking innovations, establish connections with industry experts and gain access to the necessary resources for their success.” 

Deeptech Takes Centre Stage

The pavilion will focus on insightful discussions on deeptech innovations transforming India and shaping industry capabilities across various sectors. 

The panel discussions will be hosted on topics such as research funding models for deep science advancements, IP protection and technology transfer, venture capital’s perspective on research-backed startups, and scaling deeptech in emerging markets.

“Through the pavilion, we want to create awareness about deeptech and how it can solve problems. It is an attempt to get the entire ecosystem together to create awareness and change mindsets. Tech startups and deeptech startups are very different – in terms of lifecycle and funding capital. Awareness must be raised about the vitality of patient capital for this sector. There’s a growing need to follow a sandbox regulation approach to hold room for innovations, risk-taking and pushing the boundaries,” said Ghosh.

The pavilion will also host fireside chats with industry stalwarts around building capital-efficient deeptech startups, and strategies for attracting and retaining top talent in the competitive space.

Discussions on patient capital, investor connect, deeptech quotient, rethinking research funding models for deep science advancements, and strategies for building capital-efficient deeptech startups will also provide a comprehensive view of the current landscape and future trends at the pavilion. 

The speakers will include Abhi Deshmukh, CTO of iHub Anubhuti – IIITD Foundation; Dr. Vibha, head of tech management directorate at CSIR; Raghav Aggrawal, cofounder and CEO of Fluid AI; Sateesh Andre, partner at Endiya Partners; Aakrit Vaish, cofounder and CEO of Haptik; Amit Kumar, director at Google Cloud India; Subrat Panda, CTO of AGNXT, and more. 

“Every sector is open to deeptech innovation – be it clean energy, increasing manufacturing efficiency or increasing crop yield. Scientific and technological breakthroughs must come together to solve some of the biggest challenges, including climate change, and ensure access to resources such as food and water to the population at large.,” said Ghosh.   

With a range of exclusive sessions and networking opportunities tailored to the needs of startups developing groundbreaking solutions, the deeptech pavilion is all set to unlock the potential of deeptech in Bharat.