Moving beyond consumer internet and fintech, the next wave of billion-dollar Indian startups must be built on deep technology and advanced manufacturing to secure the country's strategic autonomy, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the CII Unicorn Summit 2026, Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups and Chairman, Axilor Ventures, defined this next phase as "Unicorn 2.0", urging founders to focus on proprietary technology and longevity rather than just chasing high valuations.
"For me, Unicorn 2.0 is about deep tech," Gopalakrishnan said. While acknowledging that the first wave of consumer internet, edtech, and D2C unicorns made India proud, he noted that the next wave will determine if India becomes a truly developed economy.
"Deep tech is harder, it takes longer, the capital cycles are different... and the failure rates are higher. But the rewards-economic, strategic, and civilisational-are also far greater," he noted.
To fuel this shift, Gopalakrishnan highlighted the government's USD 11 billion (Rs 1 lakh crore over 6 years) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.
He projected that with private domestic and global co-investments, this could catalyse a massive USD 30-40 billion R&D ecosystem, creating the funnel for tomorrow's deep tech unicorns.
He also emphasised advanced manufacturing-such as robotics, IoT, and drones-as a crucial pillar, stating India must manufacture complete supply chains rather than just assemble components designed elsewhere.
Pointing to recent geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, he said owning critical technologies in AI, semiconductors, defence, and space is essential.
"Supply chain disruptions, technology export controls, and geopolitical tensions have shown that dependence on any single country or bloc for critical technologies is a strategic vulnerability. For India to become a strong, developed economy, a Viksit Bharat, we must own our technologies. This is not protectionism, this is prudence," he remarked.
Drawing on his own experience building India's IT sector, he also urged startup founders to form a dedicated industry association to actively shape government policies.
He recalled how the formation of the IT industry body Nasscom in 1988 was instrumental in creating today's USD 300 billion IT services industry.
Speaking at the CII Unicorn Summit 2026, Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups and Chairman, Axilor Ventures, defined this next phase as "Unicorn 2.0", urging founders to focus on proprietary technology and longevity rather than just chasing high valuations.
"For me, Unicorn 2.0 is about deep tech," Gopalakrishnan said. While acknowledging that the first wave of consumer internet, edtech, and D2C unicorns made India proud, he noted that the next wave will determine if India becomes a truly developed economy.
"Deep tech is harder, it takes longer, the capital cycles are different... and the failure rates are higher. But the rewards-economic, strategic, and civilisational-are also far greater," he noted.
To fuel this shift, Gopalakrishnan highlighted the government's USD 11 billion (Rs 1 lakh crore over 6 years) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.
He projected that with private domestic and global co-investments, this could catalyse a massive USD 30-40 billion R&D ecosystem, creating the funnel for tomorrow's deep tech unicorns.
He also emphasised advanced manufacturing-such as robotics, IoT, and drones-as a crucial pillar, stating India must manufacture complete supply chains rather than just assemble components designed elsewhere.
Pointing to recent geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, he said owning critical technologies in AI, semiconductors, defence, and space is essential.
"Supply chain disruptions, technology export controls, and geopolitical tensions have shown that dependence on any single country or bloc for critical technologies is a strategic vulnerability. For India to become a strong, developed economy, a Viksit Bharat, we must own our technologies. This is not protectionism, this is prudence," he remarked.
Drawing on his own experience building India's IT sector, he also urged startup founders to form a dedicated industry association to actively shape government policies.
He recalled how the formation of the IT industry body Nasscom in 1988 was instrumental in creating today's USD 300 billion IT services industry.
