ETSA 2026: Over a decade on, India's startup story is only getting started
The 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) captured this transition, reflecting an ecosystem that has moved beyond the race for scale to pursue technological depth, durable businesses and international markets.
More than a decade after India's startup ecosystem began, it is transitioning into a new phase with founders addressing complex issues in deeptech and hardtech, while homegrown companies venture into public markets and pursue global ambitions. The 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) showcased this evolution, highlighting an ecosystem that has shifted beyond the pursuit of scale to focus on technological depth, enduring businesses, and international markets.
The nominees for Startup of the Year included AI startup Sarvam, ecommerce marketplace Meesho, satellite launch vehicle maker Skyroot, wealthtech platform Groww, urban mobility service Rapido, and logistics company Porter. The 11-member jury, chaired by Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji, awarded Groww for its capacity to maintain rapid growth while becoming profitable at scale.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, the guest of honor, emphasized that India's startup ecosystem still has a long way to go, noting that despite having roughly 250,000 registered startups, the country lags behind in deeptech, where only a few thousand significant startups exist. He urged the nation to start its journey towards global competition.
Industry leaders such as Kalyan Krishnamurthy of Flipkart, Sameer Nigam of PhonePe, Harshil Mathur of Razorpay, and Manu Chandra of venture capital firm Sauce highlighted the rapid growth and diversification of India's startup landscape. They stressed the importance of building companies that can compete internationally, rather than merely serving India's consumer base.
As the ecosystem moves forward, global ambition will drive its next phase. Goyal urged that India should move beyond its domestic market and aim for global expansion, as companies that do not venture globally will fall behind. Dheemanth Nagaraj, CEO of AI semiconductor startup Agrani Labs, argued that while India's lower cost structure is an advantage, it must not compromise on technology. He asserted that a cheaper product would fail to penetrate the market if it is of inferior quality.
For the ecosystem to continue growing, access to capital and viable exit routes will be crucial. Lalit Keshre, CEO of Groww, noted that capital is available for companies in need, but valuations remain a key concern for private market investors.
Written by urgent.news from Economic Times Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
