With a staggering 2.3 lakh visitors across three days, it became the biggest-ever gathering of the Indian startup ecosystem.
The grand finale of Startup Mahakumbh 2025 ended on a high note with a powerful message—India must harness deeptech innovation to become a developed nation by 2047. Held from April 3 to 5 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the event brought together over 3,000 startups, 1,091 investors and incubators, and 10,000+ delegates from India and 60+ countries.
This year’s theme, “Startup India @2047 – Unfolding the Bharat Story”, focused on how startups can help shape the future of a stronger, self-reliant India. From AI, deeptech, cybersecurity, healthtech, and biotech to spacetech, innovation took the spotlight across 211 expert-led sessions featuring 750+ industry leaders.
One of the highlights of Day 3 was a session on how India’s research and development (R&D) ecosystem can fuel its progress toward the 2047 vision. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, pointed out that India spends only 1% of its GDP on R&D, compared to 3% in the US and 5% in Israel—a gap India must close to lead in innovation.
Arvind Gupta, CEO of the Digital India Foundation, emphasized that India’s startup journey has already come a long way and called for a $1 trillion R&D-driven innovation ecosystem to help India become a $10 trillion economy.
The panel also included leaders like Madangopal from MeitY Startup Hub, Vikram Gupta of IvyCap Ventures, and Naganand Doraswamy from Ideaspring Capital, who agreed that India’s deeptech startups have massive potential—with the right government and industry support.
With 1,052 startups receiving mentorship, and countless networking opportunities, Startup Mahakumbh 2025 not only showcased India’s entrepreneurial spirit but also paved the way for future collaborations and growth. The event made it clear: Deeptech is not just the future—it’s the foundation for building a truly self-reliant and developed India by 2047.
