India beats Israel to become No.3 startup venue

Nasscom report finds India behind only US and UK

India has outpaced Israel to become the third largest startup ecosystem on the planet with more than 4,200 new-age companies, said Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar.

Speaking to Deccan Herald on the sidelines of the Nasscom Product Conclave 2015, Chandrashekhar said India has just surpassed the numbers of startups in Israel and now is behind only the US and the UK.

“India’s startup ecosystem is now adding 1,200 firms every year. If all goes well, we will become the number two next year. The startup ecosystem has caught up the imagination of the country,” Chandrashekar said. Quoting from the second edition of the start-up report called ‘Start-up India — Momentous Rise of the Indian Start-up Ecosystem’, compiled by Nasscom along with Zinnov, he said it has been a landmark year for the startup ecosystem in the country.

“In 2014, India was the fourth largest in the world. Right now, we are the third largest. Three to four startups are set up every day, and nearly $5 billion of funding has come into the country 2015. The emergence of unicorns — privately held companies with value in excess of $1 billion — have created a lot of confidence,” he said. “Highly talented Indian youth are now choosing to pursue their ideas instead of taking up high-paid executive jobs or joining universities for higher studies. They are finding satisfaction in developing innovative products which will have greater impact in the country. This will continue to grow in the country for the coming couple of years,” he said.

Success mantra
When asked about the success rate of the start-up companies, he said there will be nine failures out of ten globally. “But from the investors, we are hearing that the quality of products churned out is increasing and this is evident in the valuation made during their exits from these startups,” he said.

Nasscom’s ‘10,000 startups’ Vice President Rajat Tandon said the startup ecosystem is flourishing in the country because of three factors.

“We have been witnessing a huge participation of angel networks throughout the country. Corporates have been supporting the ecosystem very well, for example Tata. Also, the media is offering due importance to the cause of startups,” said Tandon.