New Delhi [India], February 17 : India needs to translate its research into tangible products and technology to develop a robust deep tech ecosystem and achieve its long-term goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman of Axilor Ventures and Co-Founder of Infosys, said on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit.
Speaking to ANI, Gopalakrishnan said, "Looking at the challenge, we have to translate our research into products and technology. We don't have that kind of ecosystem and culture yet. We have small (a few) examples..."
He noted that deep tech startups are rooted in academic and laboratory research and stressed the need to create a supportive environment.
"Deep tech startups typically come from work done in our laboratories, our research labs, etc. So we have to create that ecosystem, we have to create that environment and if you do that, it will also attract capital from not just India but across the world. We are already starting to see Indian startups attracting foreign capital. More and more deep tech startups will also attract foreign capital," he said.
Gopalakrishnan emphasised that stronger collaboration between industry and academia is essential to drive innovation.
"We have to look at ways in which we can bring together industry and academia. One example is the research park at IIT Madras, where industry research is co-located with academic research. Similarly, in IIT Bombay, in IIT Delhi, et cetera, you see examples of more collaboration."
Highlighting industry-led initiatives, he added that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is piloting an industry-connect program that brings existing enterprises together with startups.
"Enterprises share their problem statements, share their challenges, and we match startups to this. This program is run out of the Centre of Excellence on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Startups. That's another way to bring industry and startups together."
On artificial intelligence, he said, "AI's application in various sectors is very, very high."
Linking technological advancement with India's long-term development vision, Gopalakrishnan said, "If India wants to become a developed nation, we have an aspiration to become a developed nation by 2047, Viksit Bharat, right? I strongly feel that economic superiority will come after technological and scientific superiority. So I feel that the transition to product nation will come on top of our deep tech ecosystem."
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