New Delhi: India has redefined what qualifies as a deep tech startup and extended eligibility to 20 years, a move aimed at boosting frontier innovation by offering tax incentives and government funding.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry last week spelled out that companies operating in fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing and advanced materials, with annual revenue of up to 3 billion rupees ($33.1 million), would qualify as deep tech. Digital platforms and consumer applications that have dominated India’s startup ecosystem and drawn the lion’s share of government funding would not.
The policy change comes in the run-up to the largest-ever AI gathering in New Delhi next week, which is expected to be attended by the who’s who of the AI world, from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc. to Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang and Anthropic PBC’s Dario Amodei.
The shift by India also has global parallels. Singapore, for instance, has rolled out targeted grants and incubation programs for deep tech ventures, while the European Innovation Council funds high-risk companies across EU member states. In the US, agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA have long supported deep tech research.
Startups seeking Indian government funding to develop next-generation technology will now be subject to rigorous vetting. From submitting materials such as incorporation documents to details of their innovation areas, companies must demonstrate significant investments in R&D, intellectual property creation, and plans to scale up and commercialize their products.
An inter-ministerial certification board, comprising representatives from multiple federal agencies including the Department of Science & Technology and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, will review each applicant. Once recognized, startups will gain preferential tax incentives and access to funding, as well as intellectual property support, according to the notification.
This report is auto-generated from Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.