Startup Mahakumbh Showcases Deep-Tech Prowess

08 Apr 2025 CW Team

A power-packed panel on “Defence Startups: Growth Engines of Viksit Bharat,” moderated by Capt. Vishal Kanwar (Retd.), featured leaders like Ankit Mehta (ideaForge), Prashant C. Jain (L&T), Prithwish Kundu (Green Aero), and Soma Sekhar Vedantam (Meridian Data Labs). The panel focused on indigenous innovation, R&D scale-up, and cross-sectoral synergies to position India as a global technology powerhouse.

Adding to the momentum, NSDC signed an MoU with Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) to build a Centre of Excellence for skill development in energy and semiconductors—a strategic move aligned with India's semiconductor mission.

In a session on “Opportunities in Defence and Space Tech,” prominent venture capitalists including Ashish Taneja (GrowX), Cdr. Navneet Kaushik (Jamwant Ventures), Girish Shivani (Yournest), Raj Sethia (MountTech Kavachh), and Vinod Shankar (Java Capital) underscored India's unique dual-use innovation potential, need for regulatory agility, and investor interest spurred by robust policy frameworks and changing geopolitical narratives.

Another key discussion, “Fintech Meets B2B,” moderated by Karthik Prabhakar (Peer Capital), delved into financial strategies for enterprise growth. Panelists including Arup Kumar (SIDBI VC), Parthesh Shah (Knight FinTech), and Sonali Jindal (Rezolv) highlighted the importance of long-term capital, academic linkages, and policy-driven incentives to spur indigenous tech development.

Wrapping up, the “zero-one in Manufacturing” session explored founder journeys in advanced textiles, specialty chemicals, and agri-tech. Led by Akshay Sharma (3one4 Capital), it featured insights from Piyush Jalan (Thimblerr), Sachin Santosh (Scimplify), and Shreshtha Kukreja (Whizzo), emphasising first-principles thinking, global compliance (US FDA, EPA), and MSME-led scaling.

Startup Mahakumbh, organised by FICCI, NASSCOM, TiE, IVCA, and others, attracted 50,000+ visitors, 3,000 startups, and 1,000+ investors. With its second edition set for 2025, the event reinforces India’s leadership in strategic and scalable innovation.

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The third and final day of Startup Mahakumbh 2025 culminated in a high-energy celebration of India’s rising prowess in deep-tech, B2B, precision manufacturing, and defence-space sectors. The event cemented India’s commitment to becoming a global innovation hub, echoing the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. A power-packed panel on “Defence Startups: Growth Engines of Viksit Bharat,” moderated by Capt. Vishal Kanwar (Retd.), featured leaders like Ankit Mehta (ideaForge), Prashant C. Jain (L&T), Prithwish Kundu (Green Aero), and Soma Sekhar Vedantam (Meridian Data Labs). The panel focused on indigenous innovation, R&D scale-up, and cross-sectoral synergies to position India as a global technology powerhouse. Adding to the momentum, NSDC signed an MoU with Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) to build a Centre of Excellence for skill development in energy and semiconductors—a strategic move aligned with India's semiconductor mission. In a session on “Opportunities in Defence and Space Tech,” prominent venture capitalists including Ashish Taneja (GrowX), Cdr. Navneet Kaushik (Jamwant Ventures), Girish Shivani (Yournest), Raj Sethia (MountTech Kavachh), and Vinod Shankar (Java Capital) underscored India's unique dual-use innovation potential, need for regulatory agility, and investor interest spurred by robust policy frameworks and changing geopolitical narratives. Another key discussion, “Fintech Meets B2B,” moderated by Karthik Prabhakar (Peer Capital), delved into financial strategies for enterprise growth. Panelists including Arup Kumar (SIDBI VC), Parthesh Shah (Knight FinTech), and Sonali Jindal (Rezolv) highlighted the importance of long-term capital, academic linkages, and policy-driven incentives to spur indigenous tech development. Wrapping up, the “zero-one in Manufacturing” session explored founder journeys in advanced textiles, specialty chemicals, and agri-tech. Led by Akshay Sharma (3one4 Capital), it featured insights from Piyush Jalan (Thimblerr), Sachin Santosh (Scimplify), and Shreshtha Kukreja (Whizzo), emphasising first-principles thinking, global compliance (US FDA, EPA), and MSME-led scaling. Startup Mahakumbh, organised by FICCI, NASSCOM, TiE, IVCA, and others, attracted 50,000+ visitors, 3,000 startups, and 1,000+ investors. With its second edition set for 2025, the event reinforces India’s leadership in strategic and scalable innovation.

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