| | AUGUST 20254A few months ago, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal made these outrageous comments about Startup India: "What are India's startups today? We are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house." While it's certainly hard to agree with this hyper-simplification of the tech startup ecosystem in the country, the landscape is not much prettier either. The lack of explosion in startup funding, the decreasing number of solid angel investors, and the declining venture capital tell the same story. There is a dire need for futuristic inventions and business plans in the country--solutions that solve India's challenges for the next 100 years. New innovations to power profitable businesses in ultra-affordable housing, improving civic sense, even making the cities cleaner and more hygienic, and minimizing corruption. Flaunting so-called "AI teachers" in schools powered by Android OS and Intel Chips, which are basically Alexa in a motor-powered mannequin, is not the need of the hour. The corporate world is already in the fine-tuning phase of AI-driven decision-making. Our inventions, innovations, product engineering and manufacturing should match this need. The possibilities and opportunities are limitless. For instance, let's take the case of Agentic AI, an advanced AI system capable of independently pursuing goals and handling complex workflows with minimal human oversight. In an organizational context, an Agentic AI assistant can go beyond standard AI tools to provide the user with a higher degree of personalized experience, such as tailoring access permissions and developing solutions based on individual user behaviors and patterns. It's high time our startup leaders start writing the Indian story of startups in the tech era. This special issue of CEO Insights features some of the prestigious IITians leading the startup ecosystem in the country. Sujith VasudevanManaging Editoreditor@ceoinsightsindia.comWhere Does the Indian Startup Ecosystem Go from Here? EditorialVol 09 · Issue 02- 08 ·AUGUST, 2025 Publisher Alok ChaturvediSenior Designer Girisha M Visualiser Madhusmita Sahoo Monalisha MalikNoidaRohan S Jaspreet K advertise@ceoinsightsindia.comEditorial queries editor@ceoinsightsindia.comAdvertising ManagerRahul Das PattanaikTo subscribeVisit https://www.ceoinsightsindia.com/subscribe/ or send emailto subscription@ceoinsightsindia.comMagazine Price is Rs. 150 per issuePublisher Alok ChaturvediPrinted and Published By Alok Chaturvedi on behalf of InfoConnect Web Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., and Printed at Executive Prints - 113/7, Ground floor, Old madras road, Halasuru, Bangalore - 560008 and Published At No. 124, 2nd Floor, Surya Chambers, Old Airport Road, Murugeshpalya, Bangalore-560017.Copyright © 2025 Info Connect Web Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher.GM - Sales & Marketing Amrit SinghCirculation Manager Magendran Perumal Editorial Keerthana Kantharaj Roopalatha H Viswanathan A Lakshmi Prabha S Managing Editor Sujith Vasudevan
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