India stands at the edge of an entrepreneurial explosion. Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and architect of the Aadhaar digital identity system, recently presented a powerful vision during the Carnegie Global Tech Summit. He predicted India will host one million startups by 2035, a steep rise from the 150,000 startups currently active in the country. Nilekani attributes this upcoming transformation to a decade of groundwork in digital infrastructure, ecosystem maturity, and a new generation of mission-driven innovators.
This isn’t just a projection. It reflects a long-term evolution fueled by deliberate policy actions, market readiness, and a surge in digital capabilities.
India’s Startup Growth Story: From 2,000 to 150,000
In 2015, India had only around 2,000 startups. Most of them operated in metros, with limited access to capital and a narrow digital footprint. Today, the number has crossed 150,000. This exponential growth didn’t happen by chance.
Nilekani explained that a virtuous cycle of innovation, success, reinvestment, and scaling has built this momentum. Successful startups have recycled capital into new ventures. Founders have turned into mentors and angel investors. Talent has flowed from big tech firms into entrepreneurial ventures. Each layer of success has seeded a new layer of innovation.
Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune now lead the way, but tier-2 and tier-3 cities have also joined the movement. Startup India, launched by the government in 2016, played a key role in shifting mindsets and nurturing ambition beyond metros.
Digital Public Infrastructure: The Startup Supercharger
Nilekani didn’t merely point at the numbers. He dissected the underlying architecture powering this ecosystem. Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, and the rapid rollout of low-cost data by Reliance Jio have created a digital scaffold on which India’s startup ecosystem now thrives.
India created a digital identity system with Aadhaar. That identity links to bank accounts, mobile numbers, and digital wallets. Then came the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which transformed India’s payments ecosystem, enabling real-time money transfers between individuals and businesses. The Bhim app and a host of private digital wallets rode on UPI’s open rails.
This open and interoperable infrastructure reduced the entry barrier for new tech ventures. Founders no longer needed to build everything from scratch. They could plug into existing layers—authentication, payments, digital signatures, and more—and start innovating on top.
According to Nilekani, this digital groundwork didn’t arrive overnight. Policymakers, technologists, and entrepreneurs worked behind the scenes for years to prepare this invisible foundation.
Ecosystem Builders: Startups That Build Startups
Another key shift Nilekani highlighted involves the role of successful startups as ecosystem builders. Startups like Flipkart, Paytm, Zerodha, and Freshworks have birthed an entire generation of ex-founders, ex-employees, and angel investors.
These veterans don’t just invest capital—they offer playbooks, industry connects, mentorship, and domain insights. This culture of sharing builds resilience into the ecosystem. It also creates a network effect, where one success story triggers dozens more.
Startups like Razorpay have supported fintech entrepreneurs. Zomato alumni have built food delivery, grocery, and AI ventures. Ola’s former executives now lead new-age EV and logistics startups. The cycle continues with every unicorn that rises.
This ecosystem approach ensures that entrepreneurship becomes sustainable and scalable, rather than isolated or elite-driven.
The Next Frontier: Climate, Energy, and Space
Nilekani didn’t just focus on numbers or infrastructure. He framed the mission of the next generation. India’s future startups will solve high-stakes problems in climate change, clean energy, and space exploration.
The country faces massive environmental challenges—ranging from air quality to energy transition. New-age startups now build EV technologies, solar infrastructure, waste management platforms, and carbon-trading solutions.
India’s private space industry is also expanding rapidly. Startups like Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos have launched indigenous rocket systems. They aim to reduce costs for satellite deployment, Earth observation, and data analytics from space.
These ventures target global markets while solving domestic challenges. Nilekani believes these sectors will drive innovation for the next two decades, just as fintech and e-commerce did in the last one.
AI: The Next Big Catalyst
Artificial Intelligence will define India’s startup growth in the coming years. Nilekani emphasized AI’s potential to scale across sectors—education, agriculture, healthcare, and governance. India doesn’t need to replicate Western AI models. Instead, it can develop localized, inclusive, and multilingual AI systems.
With over 600 million WhatsApp users and nearly 400 million UPI users, India already has the digital adoption necessary to deploy AI tools at scale. Startups can use chatbots in regional languages, AI-powered agritech platforms for farmers, and voice-based assistants for semi-literate users.
AI won’t replace jobs—it will enhance productivity. It will allow teachers to personalize lessons, doctors to offer remote diagnoses, and small businesses to manage operations efficiently. India can build a grassroots AI movement, much like its digital payments revolution.
Moving Faster With a Clear Path
Nilekani believes India now understands the startup playbook. The infrastructure exists. The talent pool grows each year. The capital flows more freely. And the culture around risk-taking and experimentation continues to evolve.
Now that the groundwork is ready, the country can move faster. Startups can reach scale quicker, raise capital with greater confidence, and go global without losing local relevance.
Policies must evolve to support this new reality. Nilekani’s vision calls for more regulatory clarity, open innovation platforms, better IP protection, and continuous support for deep tech. Educational institutions must integrate entrepreneurship into curriculums. Incubators must support not just IT startups, but hardware, biotech, and cleantech ventures.
Conclusion: A Vision Rooted in Preparedness
India isn’t chasing a wild dream. It is executing a carefully constructed roadmap that took shape over the past decade. With 150,000 startups already in operation and digital rails firmly in place, the one-million-startup milestone appears achievable.
Nandan Nilekani’s prediction doesn’t rest on hype. It rests on data, experience, and a proven cycle of innovation and reinvestment. India’s startup journey reflects a shift in ambition, fueled by digital inclusion, risk capital, and mission-driven entrepreneurs.
The road to 2035 will demand resilience, policy support, and deep-tech innovation. But the vision is clear. India will not just build startups. It will build a startup nation—ready to lead in technology, sustainability, and inclusive growth.