Indian startups on the right path in deep tech but need more patience, says Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain

Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain

India's startup ecosystem is moving in the right direction when it comes to deep tech, albeit on a smaller scale than the United States or China. But with a bit of support and some patient capital, it’ll get there, said Dream Sports co-founder Harsh Jain on April 9.

"Honorable Minister (Piyush Goyal) recently spoke about what we're doing versus what we should be doing. I think we are doing what we should be doing at a much smaller scale ... I agree with the sentiment that India needs to be at the forefront of tech in the world ... The only difference is the timing issue," Jain said during a panel discussion at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2025.

Union Minister Goyal recently kicked up a storm among startups in the country, saying Indian firms need to aspire bigger and there has been a slide in the ecosystem in comparison with the Chinese companies.

During his speech, he highlighted the stark contrast between the two countries, arguing that India's startup space was too focused on food delivery and gig work while their Chinese counterparts were working on developing cutting-edge technologies such as electric mobility and battery technology.

Jain said many large companies are now investing in the future, and the results of these efforts will become apparent in a few years from now. However, he noted that this is a natural progression, one that both the United States and China went through over the past decade or so.

That said, Jain stressed the need for "billions of dollars in patient capital" to pursue the same level of deeptech work that's happening in the United States or China.

"US companies like Google, Amazon, or Meta have had over a decade of generating tens of billions of dollars in free cash flow. That's what they are reinvesting now, but you need to have that war chest to be able to reinvest into the future and have patient capital" Jain said.

He added, "We currently don't have any tech companies in India that have over a billion dollars of EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation). So if you don't have that, how are you going to have billions of dollars to play at the big boys' table and invest in deep tech."

To be sure, Jain noted that the funding environment has significantly improved in India, "Today we have seed capital, pre-seed capital, Series A capital, growth capital, and Pre-IPO capital. This has taken us in the last 10 years from 1-2 unicorns to 100 plus unicorns".

"Hence, we are just lagging behind...India will get there. We just need a little bit of support and a little patience," he said.

Read: ‘India will foray big into deeptech’: Piyush Goyal’s major boost for startups with Rs 10,000-crore fund

AI bringing back era of garage startups

During the panel discussion, Jain also remarked that the era of 'garage startups' becoming billion-dollar businesses is making a comeback, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).

"The beauty of AI is that a kid with a laptop and internet connection can launch a business that could become a billion dollar business very soon. This is the first time in at least 20 years, since the dotcom era, that we are seeing that trend coming back," he said.

Jain said the current tech environment therefore provides a fantastic opportunity for startups, since "they are born into AI," unlike larger companies that are struggling with it because they have to "undo the way they have been doing business, relearn, and start all over again."