National Startup Day, observed on January 16, celebrates India’s booming startup spirit driving innovation, jobs, and nation-building. From AI and cybersecurity to manufacturing and cloud infrastructure, NCN brings leaders’ insights on startups shaping a resilient, globally trusted India.
Dr. Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director at Quick Heal Technologies
“Start-ups as a subject is particularly close to my heart because they represent the courage and ambition of India’s innovators. Today, India’s startup ecosystem has crossed a remarkable milestone with more than 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups, collectively generating over 21 lakh jobs and powering entrepreneurship across sectors.
India’s startup ecosystem is a powerful reflection of the country’s innovation mindset which is fast moving, digital first, and increasingly global in ambition. As startups scale at speed, trust becomes their strongest differentiator. In a world where technology knows no borders, cybersecurity is no longer optional. It is fundamental to sustainable growth.
At Quick Heal Technologies Limited, we view the protection of startups and small businesses as a national priority. Founders should be able to focus on building products and markets, not worrying about cyber risk. Through Seqrite, we are simplifying enterprise grade security so it is easy to deploy, easy to manage, and effective even without large dedicated security teams. Our AI driven capabilities such as GoDeep.AI, AntiFraud.AI, the Seqrite Intelligent Assistant, and threat intelligence from Seqrite Labs help organisations predict, detect, and respond to threats in real time. This ensures that even the smallest enterprise can operate with the same level of confidence as large global corporations.
On National Startup Day, we celebrate India’s entrepreneurs and the resilient digital foundation they are creating for the future.”
Mr. Piyush Kedia, Co-Founder and CEO, InCommon
“We believe startups are the heartbeat of innovation, driving change across industries and geographies. On National Startup Day, we celebrate the courage and vision of entrepreneurs who challenge norms and create solutions that impact millions.
In the GCC, startups are emerging as key players in shaping the region’s future, fueled by digital transformation, strategic investments, and a growing appetite for innovation. Yet, scaling in this dynamic ecosystem requires the right talent, operational support, and access to global networks.
At InCommon, we are committed to bridging that gap connecting startups with the people, technology, and insights they need to thrive. We believe that when startups in the GCC are empowered, they do more than grow businesses – they create jobs, drive economic growth, and inspire a culture of entrepreneurship.”
Mr. Prakash Ravindran, CEO & Director, InstiFi
‘India’s startup ecosystem is moving into a more mature phase. Long-term sustainability, regulatory discipline, and customer trust are becoming as important as innovation and scale. For fintech startups, success will depend on building strong foundations, secure infrastructure, transparent processes, and compliance-first operations. As the ecosystem evolves, startups that focus on solving real business challenges while maintaining governance standards will be better positioned to grow responsibly. At InstiFI, we see this phase as an opportunity to contribute meaningfully by enabling reliable digital payments for businesses of all sizes. The coming years will define how Indian startups build resilience, credibility, and lasting impact across the digital economy.”
Mr. Harsha Solanki, VP GM Asia, Infobip
“India’s startup ecosystem has become the third-largest hub globally, with over 6 lakh startups. Many of these are now emerging from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, focusing on reaching users across India. As innovation expands beyond metros, founders working in areas such as deeptech, agritech, AI, and Bharat-first solutions are navigating and addressing a unique set of challenges. Factors like building trust, ensuring connectivity, scaling communication, and offering language diversity often determine how quickly they can grow.
Infobip works alongside startups as an enabler rather than just a technology provider. Through our CPaaS capabilities and the Infobip Startup Tribe program, we support startups in building reliable, localized, and cost-effective communication via free communication credits, technical support, and access to global-grade infrastructure. It helps them connect with users more effectively.
This National Startup Day, we celebrate India’s entrepreneurial spirit and its role in shaping a future-ready economy. At Infobip, we remain dedicated to supporting the startups at every step in their journey, further paving the way for sustained innovation and creating meaningful impact.”
Mr. Gopi Sirineni, CEO and Founder, Axiado Corporation
“National Startup Day is a reminder that India’s entrepreneurial story is now tightly linked to its digital and cybersecurity story. With lakhs of startups and a strong push from initiatives such as Startup India, Digital India, and the emerging India AI Mission, we are seeing founders think beyond apps and software to the underlying infrastructure that keeps digital systems trusted and resilient.
Artificial Intelligence, 5G, fintech, and digital public infrastructure are expanding the country’s attack surface as quickly as they create new opportunities. Breaches today are just as likely to originate from compromised firmware, hardware backdoors, or cloud platforms as they are from application-level weaknesses. This is why India’s policy conversations around data protection, critical infrastructure, and trusted supply chains are so important for the startup ecosystem.
For the next decade, India’s most influential startups will be the ones that treat security and reliability as part of nation-building. When companies design products that align with emerging regulations, embed security from the silicon and platform level upwards, and are transparent about accountability, they are not only protecting their customers. They are strengthening India’s position as a trusted provider of technology to the world.”
Mr. Harishanker Kannan, CEO & Co-founder of Scalefusion
“On National Startup Day, we at Scalefusion reflect on our journey. In 2015, we started with something straightforward but essential – a Kiosk Software. Businesses needed devices that stayed locked, focused, and completely reliable in tough environments like retail floors, field service, or digital signage. That vision led to a very important lesson: the path a product should pursue is always determined by the customer’s pain points.
As enterprises grew, their environments did too, with more devices, broader usage, and a sharper focus on security. We evolved into a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution and then advanced further into Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), guided at every step by customer feedback as our north star. We built stronger management, deeper visibility, and security that evolved with the environment.
We build deliberately, prioritizing what genuinely reduces effort for IT teams. Today, we’re at a place where we anticipate what teams need next, and we’ve been able to build a platform that manages device, user access, and endpoint security in one solution.
What drives us is the quiet trust organizations place in us to manage the devices powering their daily operations, where stability always trumps experimentation. To every startup out there: stay disciplined in your beginnings, listen deeply to your customers, and build solutions meant to last.”
Mr. Kshitij Tiwari, Founder and CEO of ideazmeet
“National Startup Day is a reminder that India’s startup ecosystem has entered a phase of maturity where impact matters as much as innovation. As the manufacturing ecosystem matures, the focus is shifting from rapid disruption to building platforms that address structural challenges such as fragmented supply chains, limited digital visibility, and trust deficits across the manufacturing value chain.
At ideazmeet, our objective has been to strengthen the digital backbone of manufacturing by enabling MSMEs to access global markets through transparent, technology-led collaboration. India’s manufacturers possess the capability and scale to support global demand, but unlocking this potential requires systems that improve discoverability, standardisation, and accountability.
With initiatives such as Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and supply chain diversification gaining momentum, startups play a critical role in operationalising policy outcomes on the ground. Thoughtfully applied technology can improve sourcing efficiency, enhance compliance, and strengthen supply chain resilience.
As India positions itself as a trusted global manufacturing destination, startups that align innovation with policy intent, empower MSMEs, and prioritise sustainable growth will drive long-term industrial competitiveness.”
Mr. Narendra Sen (Founder & CEO, RackBank & NeevCloud)
“India’s startup ecosystem is pivoting from a phase of rapid experimentation to one of strategic scaling and sovereignty. As AI becomes the bedrock of innovation, mere access to the cloud is no longer enough—startups need high-performance, AI-ready infrastructure that is both indigenous and affordable.
To truly democratize AI, we must decentralize this power. Building robust, GPU-dense infrastructure in Tier 2 cities isn’t just about cost efficiency; it’s about enabling founders to build, train, and deploy locally while competing globally. The next unicorn shouldn’t be limited by the cost of compute or data latency.
The future belongs to those who control their compute. By prioritizing sustainable, sovereign, and scalable digital infrastructure today, we are laying the foundation for India not just to consume AI, but to lead it.”
Mr. Anand Mahurkar, CEO & Founder, Findability Sciences
“On National Startup Day, ask yourself one question: What problem am I brave enough to solve for the next 10 years? India is entering a phase where capital is more selective, technology is more powerful and expectations are higher. This is not the time for shallow ideas. This is the time for founders with depth who understand customers, economics, and long-term value creation. Great startups are not built by chasing valuations. They are built by earning trust, one decision at a time. To everyone building in India today, this is your moment.”
Mr. Debidutt Acharya, Co-Founder and COO at One800
”Startup stories in India are most effective when they are based on actual, real-world customer issues. This National Startup Day honors the desire to create solutions that actually enhance millions of Indians’ daily lives.
We weren’t pursuing disruption for its own sake when we founded One800. We were addressing the straightforward but pervasive challenge of consumers not being able to fix their smartphones in a transparent and dependable manner. Even though India is one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world, professional after-sales support is still disjointed, unorganised, and inadequate. That gap offered a chance as well as a challenge.
Startups now have access to amazing technology, but how carefully they use it is what really sets them apart. Live repair streaming, a breakthrough introduction at One800, is used to rebuild customer trust rather than as a gimmick. When purposefully created, transparency may be a potent source of trust.
India’s startup ecosystem is at an inflection point where value creation must go hand in hand with sustainability. A strong ‘Repair, Don’t Replace’ mindset not only helps consumers extend device life and reduce e-waste, but also creates skilled jobs across the repair ecosystem, outcomes that matter as much as scale and valuation.”
Mr. Akshay Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO, Kazam
“India’s startup ecosystem is at a pivotal moment. As founders, we are not just building companies, we are building markets and helping India become globally competitive in sectors that are still taking shape. In such environments, progress comes from agility, grit, and the courage to pursue audacious goals amid uncertainty. Enduring companies are built through the ability to execute at scale, learn rapidly from real-world constraints, and continuously earn the trust of customers and partners as unit economics and operating models evolve.
Once our startups grow, their influence extends beyond markets into the broader ecosystem. By solving real problems across infrastructure, regulation, and adoption and by sharing on-ground insights responsibly with industry and government, founders can help shape policy through evidence rather than advocacy. When ambition is matched with execution and collaboration, startups can do.”
Mr. Amit Chand, Founder, BYT Capital
“As India’s startup ecosystem continues to mature, there is an increasing focus on addressing hard, fundamental problems through meaningful innovation. Startups are increasingly being recognised not only as engines of growth, but also as contributors to responsible progress—where considerations around sustainability and inclusion influence how solutions are designed, scaled, and made relevant to a wider population. Together, these shifts highlight long-term thinking and durability as defining characteristics of India’s next phase of innovation, aligned with the vision of a Viksit Bharat.”
Covered By: NCN MAGAZINE / National Startup
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