India is expected to be home to at least 11,500 technology start-ups by 2020, up from the present 3,000, driven by a demand for solutions around new-age technologies, according to a study by IT industry trade body Nasscom and Zinnov.
The Indian start-ups, with their unique solutions, are witnessing increased traction in global whitespace opportunities, such as Internet of Things, augmented realty and smart hardware among others. According to the study, the emerging niche technology solutions are primarily focused on ad-tech, edu-tech, health-tech, agri-tech and many more. It was also revealed that Bangalore and the NCR region are home to the most number of young businesses.
Rajat Tandon, senior director, Nasscom 10,000 Startups, said, “These latest findings clearly indicate the beginning of the golden era for young tech-based businesses, where opportunities for growth are much larger than the challenges in the ecosystem.”
The study also highlighted that the start-ups today have better access to funds from venture capital and private equity players, angel investors, incubators, financial institutes and even banks. “During 2010-2014 time frame, close to $3 billion is expected to be invested in Indian start-ups,” Nasscom said in a statement.
After plunging to a four-year low in 2013, PE investments in India bounced back by 47.3% in 2014 to touch $10.9 billion across 436 deals, the highest figure ever, behind $14.5 billion across 529 deals invested in 2007, according to data from financial research firm Venture Intelligence. With 224 investments worth about $5.8 billion, the Information Technology and IT-Enabled Services companies topped in terms of both investment value, accounting for as much as 53% of the pie and volume (52%) in 2014.