boAt co-founder Aman Gupta backs Piyush Goyal's call for startups to dream bigger, push deeper into AI
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Synopsis
boAt co-founder Aman Gupta supported Piyush Goyal’s message urging Indian startups to aim higher. At Startup Mahakumbh, both leaders emphasized the need for innovation in AI, deeptech, and global-scale problem-solving to lead the world.
Consumer electronics firm boAt's co-founder Aman Gupta has backed Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the need for Indian startups to aim higher and start working on bigger solutions.
Drawing a parallel with China, the Union Minister on Thursday said Indian startups are working on food delivery apps, while Chinese counterparts are working on electric mobility, battery technology, and other future technologies.
The Commerce Minister made these remarks at the just-concluded Startup Mahakumbh.
The minister suggested that India needs to raise the bar and help prepare for the future of the nation. Goyal supplemented that he had no issue with startups working on food delivery services but wants to see more entrepreneurs working on serious problem-solving.
boAt co-founder Gupta, who was in attendance at the Startup Mahakumbh during Piyush Goyal's address, took to a social media platform to post his comments.
"It's not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger. But at Startup Mahakumbh, that's exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Minister Piyush Goyal isn't against founders. He believes in us. His point was simple: India has come far, but to lead the world... we need to aim higher," Gupta wrote.
"It reminded me of something I say often on Shark Tank India: if you want to build a world-class product, you must know your competition. That applies to India too. Benchmarking against China, the US, or anyone else — isn't weakness. It's smart strategy. We're already the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world and the fastest-growing major economy," the startup leader said in his X post.
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But if India wants to be No.1, Gupta said it also needs to go deep into AI, deeptech, climate, mobility, and infrastructure.
"We need LLMs (large language models) and innovation stacks that compete on global standards. And to make that happen, we also need scientific risk, more patient capital, founder–policymaker collaboration, and a long-term national vision," he added in his X post.
India has about 1.6 lakh startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). India has the third-largest startup ecosystem.
On January 16, 2025, India marked nine years of Startup India, a flagship initiative that began in 2016.