India’s DeepTech dilemma: Why the startup boom still needs a research backbone

Are Indian startups too obsessed with convenience? Is India building enough deeptech muscle to compete with China’s AI-first, research-heavy push? Much of the current momentum revolves around “doorstep convenience”: instant groceries, same-day deliveries, and digital payments. But where is the deep tech? Where are the foundational bets in AI, quantum computing, or robotics?

It is a valid concern, one that recently drew attention after Piyush Goyal, India’s Commerce Minister, commented on the country’s startup obsession with doorstep delivery services and quick commerce. But for those deeply embedded in India’s tech evolution, the answer isn’t as binary.

While the quick-delivery segment grabs headlines, there’s serious movement under the surface. The Indian ecosystem is beginning to embrace the complex, compute-heavy world of large language models (LLMs) and AI.

Dataquest had an interaction with Atul Khosla, Vice Chancellor at Shoolini University and a veteran technologist deeply engaged with the technological ecosystem in India. Khosla remarked that the lag is not about capability; it is about evolution, infrastructure, and culture.

We’re not behind. We’re evolving

"It's an evolution,” says Khosla. “China began its deep-tech and AI investments five to seven years ago. India is starting now. But the signs are promising.”

Khosla points to real examples that India is beginning to close the gap. “In the LLM space, I’m told there will be a Hindi-centric large language model launching in the next six months that’s nearly as good as DeepSeek. We’re probably just three to five years behind,” he says.

He cites InMobi, India’s first unicorn, founded by Naveen Tewari, as a pioneer in deep AI marketing. “Naveen is a close friend, and he’s working on something that will be announced soon. Much of what sits under Google’s tech stack, InMobi is also building. And that’s all made in India.”

Research is the missing link

However, Khosla added that deeptech does not thrive without a foundation in research, a foundation India currently lacks. “You’re asking about innovation? It comes from research. And we don’t do enough of it,” he says.

“Our companies don’t invest in research. Our universities don’t invest in research. Our labs don’t invest in research. That’s the fundamental problem,” he emphasises. “If you look at India’s R&D spend, it’s very small compared to global standards.”

To illustrate the scale of the problem, Khosla compares budgets: “IIT Bombay, one of our premier institutes, has a total budget of around Rs.1,500 to Rs. 2,000 crore. That’s under USD 300 – 400 million. Contrast that with UPenn or Harvard, which run on USD 10 billion annually. How do we compete with that?”

Culture must change for innovation to thrive

At its heart, Khosla argued that India’s deeptech problem is cultural. It is important to believe in the importance of research and celebrate it. He also called for media, academia, and policymakers to give their share in innovation, to tell the stories of researchers, founders in deeptech, and engineers building foundational technologies.

Despite the concerns, the nation remains optimistic about India’s booming startup ecosystem. But the key to becoming a technological hub still lies in investing in research and foundational tech. And if we want to build AI giants or hardware innovators like others have, we need structural reforms in education, better research and development funding, and a cultural shift that celebrates scientific achievement as much as cricketing fame.