India proudly holds the title of the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, with over 100 unicorns and a staggering 150,000+ startups by 2025. Yet, at a recent pre-Mahakumbh Startup meet, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal didn’t mince words. He painted a stark picture: while China pours billions into semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing, India’s youth are busy delivering food in 10 minutes and groceries in 10 mins — serving the whims of the affluent while the nation lags in groundbreaking innovation. Goyal’s critique wasn’t just a jab at food delivery apps; it was a wake-up call to a system that celebrates the wrong kind of startups and fails to nurture the builders of tomorrow.
The Cookie and Ice Cream Conundrum
Walk into any episode of Shark Tank India, and you’ll see a pattern. A parade of rich kids with polished pitches for artisanal cookies, gourmet ice creams, or quirky snack brands often walk away with hefty investments. Sharks like Aman Gupta of boAt, whom Goyal singled out, salivate over these ventures—not because they’re revolutionary, but because they’re profitable. These businesses crack the distribution code, leverage the Sharks’ networks, and scale fast. Take a brand like “Fancy Scoops” (a fictional example): a 20-something from a wealthy family pitches a premium ice cream line, secures a deal, and uses the Sharks’ clout to land in every urban supermarket. It’s a business, sure—but a startup? Hardly.
Startups, by definition, are ventures that innovate, disrupt, and solve hard problems. Selling cookies or ice cream isn’t innovation—it’s commerce dressed up as entrepreneurship. Yet, these pitches dominate the spotlight. Why? Because they’re low-risk, high-return bets for investors who prioritize quick exits over long-term impact. Meanwhile, a founder with a prototype for affordable solar-powered irrigation or an AI-driven healthcare diagnostic tool is dismissed with a casual, “It’s too early,” or “It’s not scalable.” The Sharks’ bias toward profit over purpose is glaring—and it’s a microcosm of India’s startup ecosystem woes.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Let’s break it down with some hard data. China invested $138 billion in deep tech—semiconductors, AI, quantum computing—in recent years, with universities alone receiving $65 billion for R&D in 2022. Every province aligns with a national tech mission: Shenzhen drives hardware, Shanghai powers semiconductors, and Beijing fuels AI. Policy continuity spans decades, creating a robust pipeline from lab to market. The result? Companies like BYD and CATL dominate electric vehicles and battery tech, while DeepSeek’s AI models challenge global giants like OpenAI.
India, in contrast, is playing catch-up. The newly announced $1.2 billion Deep Tech Fund pales against China’s war chest. Over five years, India’s deep tech investment barely touches $10 billion. The National Research Foundation, meant to turbocharge R&D, remains a proposal on paper. Private sector R&D spending languishes at 36.4% of gross expenditure (compared to 70% in the U.S.), and public sector AI investment is negligible. India’s total R&D spend hovers at 0.8-0.9% of GDP, while China’s hits 2.5%. The gap isn’t just financial—it’s systemic.
In 2024, Indian startups raised $11.3 billion—a 6% uptick from 2023 but a 56% drop from 2022’s $25.7 billion peak. Early-stage deep tech startups secured just $3.4 billion, while late-stage consumer and fintech giants mopped up $5.1 billion. Meanwhile, China’s 6,075 deep tech startups dwarf India’s ~1,000. The message is clear: India’s ecosystem rewards efficiency-driven ventures—think Zepto or Swiggy—over moonshot innovators.
Why India Lags: A Culture of Comfort Over Courage
1. The Rich Kid Startup Syndrome
India’s startup scene is increasingly a playground for the privileged. A 2023 Nasscom report noted that 40% of tech startups now emerge from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, a sign of democratization. Yet, the big cheques still go to urban elites with pedigrees and connections. These founders often pivot to “safe” ideas—cookies, ice creams, or fashion labels—because they can afford to fail. Deep tech, with its high risk and long gestation, doesn’t fit their narrative. Contrast this with China, where state-backed incubators in cities like Shenzhen churn out hardware innovators from diverse backgrounds.
2. Education: Theories, Not Labs
Goyal’s critique of India’s youth isn’t entirely fair—it’s the system that’s failing them. The curriculum emphasizes rote learning over experimentation. The New Education Policy (2020) promised critical thinking and innovation, but implementation lags. China’s universities, flush with $65 billion in R&D funds, produce patents and prototypes. India’s 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs are a start, but they’re underfunded and lack the scale to rival China’s Tier II AI labs. Indian students ace theory; Chinese students build rockets.
3. Risk Aversion and Short-Termism
Investors in India chase quick wins. A 2024 Tracxn report highlighted that retail ($1.95 billion) and fintech ($1.49 billion) topped funding charts, while deep tech languished. Sharks on Shark Tank India mirror this mindset, shunning social impact projects for scalable cookie empires. In China, state-backed funds take 10-15-year bets on semiconductors and quantum tech, accepting failures as part of the game. India’s venture capital ecosystem, despite raising $16.77 billion in 2024 (a 14.1% increase), remains fixated on IPOs and unicorns, not patient innovation.
4. The AI Astrology and Betting Trap
While China builds foundational AI like DeepSeek’s R1, Indian founders chase AI-driven astrology apps and online betting platforms. Why? They’re lucrative. A 2023 report pegged India’s online gaming market at $2.6 billion, projected to hit $8.6 billion by 2027. Young Indians, hooked on betting games, lose time and money—fueling a cycle of distraction over creation. No Indian AI model rivals ChatGPT or DeepSeek because founders prioritize low-hanging fruit over foundational tech.
Shark Tank India: Showbiz Over Substance?
Shark Tank India could be a catalyst for real innovation, but it’s become a circus of commerce. Aman Gupta’s boAt, a consumer electronics success, thrives on branding and distribution—not deep tech. Yet, he and his fellow Sharks gravitate toward pitches that mirror their comfort zones. A 2025 analysis of Season 3 showed 60% of funded startups were in food, fashion, or lifestyle—sectors with proven playbooks. Deep tech pitches, like a biodegradable battery or a rural telemedicine drone, were sidelined as “too niche” or “unproven.” The show’s glitz—dramatic music, rehearsed one-liners—elevates influencers over inventors, sending a message: startups are about swagger, not substance.
The Real Cost: No Indian DeepSeek
China’s DeepSeek upended the AI race in 2025, proving high-performance models don’t need cutting-edge GPUs—a boon for India, facing U.S. export curbs on Nvidia chips starting May 2025. Yet, India has no equivalent. Why? Founders lack the funding, compute power, and ecosystem to build it. India’s 5,000-6,000 GPUs (per JLL estimates) can’t match China’s infrastructure. The $1.2 billion India AI Mission is a step, but it’s dwarfed by China’s $138 billion deep tech push. Instead of foundational AI, Indian startups churn out AI astrology and online betting apps—profitable, but not transformative.
Building a Real Ecosystem: What India Needs
Goyal’s right—India needs reform, not rhetoric. Here’s how:
1. Fund the Future, Not the Past
Scale the Deep Tech Fund to $10 billion over five years. Mirror China’s province-aligned missions: Bengaluru for AI, Hyderabad for biotech, Pune for robotics. Subsidize compute access for early-stage AI startups, not just cookie brands.
2. Revamp Education
Shift from marks to missions. Equip Atal Tinkering Labs with real budgets and industry mentors. Partner with global tech giants—Microsoft’s $3 billion AI skilling pledge (2025) is a start—to train 10 million students by 2030.
3. Incentivize Risk
Offer tax breaks for deep tech R&D, not just IPO-bound unicorns. Create a $500 million state-backed fund for social impact startups—think affordable healthcare or clean energy—ignored by Sharks.
4. Celebrate Builders, Not Influencers
Pivot Shark Tank India to spotlight innovators. Showcase a drone delivery startup over a dessert chain. Media and government must amplify real heroes—ISRO scientists, not Instagram stars.
The World’s Watching
India’s startup ecosystem is a paradox: third-largest by volume, yet a laggard in impact. We’ve mastered slogans—“Startup India,” “Make in India”—but stumble on systems. China builds semiconductors; we bake cookies. The youth aren’t the problem; they’re the potential. Feed them labs, not lectures; missions, not marks; innovators, not influencers. Until then, we’ll stay a nation of 10-minute deliveries—convenient, but not consequential.
What’s your take? Are we celebrating the wrong startups? Is Shark Tank India a symptom or a solution? Let’s stop clapping at conferences and start building something real.