80% of India's startup are AI-led: Ashwin Vashnaw, credit: X
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology, emphasized the growth of India’s deep-tech startup ecosystem on Friday, National Startup Day, thanks to targeted financing and policy assistance.
In an X post, he wrote, “Today, 80% of our startups are AI-led. DLI scheme under India Semiconductor Mission has supported 23 startups so far.”
He further said that “For institutional funding, $1 billion India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) was announced at Semicon India 2025. The Research Development & Innovation Fund, with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore, is also strengthening innovation capabilities,”
He added that artificial intelligence is currently the driving force behind 80% of Indian businesses. In terms of investment, he stated that RDI funds companies worth Rs 1 lakh crore, which promotes deeptech innovation.
At a National Startup Day celebration earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also discussed the Indian startup environment. According to him, the Startup India initiative is a “Rainbow Vision” that seeks to link various industries with fresh prospects.
On National Startup Day, the Prime Minister spoke to entrepreneurs and stakeholders in India’s startup ecosystem and stated that, in his opinion, startups’ confidence and reputation are more important than their financial performance. He also lauded the risk appetite of India’s startups.
“I have consistently emphasised risk-taking, because it has also been my long-standing habit. Tasks that no one was ready to take up, tasks that previous governments avoided for decades because they feared losing elections or power — I have always considered it my responsibility to take them on. Like you, I too believe that whatever work is necessary for the country must be done by someone. Someone has to take the risk,” he said.
Over the course of this time, India’s startup ecosystem has grown at an unparalleled rate, with over 2,00,000 startups acknowledged nationwide. These businesses now play a major role in creating jobs, fostering innovation-driven economic expansion, and bolstering domestic value chains across a variety of industries.
(input from ANI)
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
Tweets @ZiyaIbnHameed
Air India Loses Over $2 Billion As Iran War And Pakistan Airspace Ban Hit Operations
Air India posted a record loss of over $2 billion in FY2025-26, according to Singapore…
Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant And…? 3 IPL Captains Who Could Be Sacked After The 2026 Season
Three prominent IPL 2026 captains face massive leadership scrutiny after highly disappointing campaigns. We analyze…
Mouni Roy has officially confirmed her divorce from Suraj Nambiar four years after marriage. The…
