India's innovation ecosystem has earned 'tremendous respect' in Silicon Valley over the past five years, driven by a rapid expansion in startups, artificial intelligence ventures, and surging global investment, entrepreneur and investor Shashi Tripathi said ahead of the 'Bharat Innovates 2026' summit scheduled in France. Tripathi, speaking to reporters on 13 June, said India's transformation from a technology services hub to a full-spectrum innovation centre has fundamentally shifted how the Valley perceives the country.

What Bharat Innovates 2026 Will Showcase

The 'Bharat Innovates 2026' summit is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, and will feature 100 Indian startups selected through a competitive process. Tripathi described the event as a reflection of India's growing stature as a global centre for entrepreneurship and technology. The selected startups span sectors including artificial intelligence, fintech, health technology, and advanced engineering. 'These are very top-notch startups,' Tripathi said. 'These are very high-quality startups.'

Silicon Valley's Changing View of India

According to Tripathi, the shift in perception has been marked and measurable. 'What India has done is phenomenal in many areas around AI, around technology, around overall innovations,' he said, adding that 'the respect for India has gone up significantly when it comes to innovation.' He pointed to emerging sectors — including space technology, retail technology, and fintech — as evidence that Indian entrepreneurs are no longer confined to traditional IT services. 'New space technologies are being created in India. New fintechs are coming. New retail models are being created,' he said.

Investment Surge and Cultural Shift

Tripathi noted that the innovation momentum has attracted substantial capital from Silicon Valley venture capital firms and global technology companies. 'A lot of new investments are being grown into India from Silicon Valley,' he said, attributing the flow to the breadth of innovation emerging from the country. He also highlighted a generational cultural shift: where entrepreneurship was once considered a risky outlier path, it has become aspirational for young graduates. 'I remember when I graduated, I couldn't even phantom to start a company right out of my graduation,' he said. Today, he noted, students are launching ventures before completing their degrees, and the acceptance of failure as part of the innovation cycle has taken hold. 'Failure has been accepted now, and until you fail, you cannot innovate,' he said.

Role of Government, IITs, and Tier-2 Cities

Tripathi credited Prime Minister Modi with playing a foundational role in building India's startup culture. 'I will give him the credit about cultivating and starting the startup ecosystem. He has played a huge role,' he said. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were also singled out as critical contributors, producing a disproportionate share of startup founders and technology leaders. Notably, Tripathi said innovation is increasingly emerging from tier-two and tier-three cities, broadening India's economic participation beyond its metropolitan centres.

What India Must Do Next

Despite the progress, Tripathi urged India to set more ambitious targets if it aims to compete with the world's leading innovation ecosystems. 'India has now the talent, the capacity, the audacity to complete new innovation,' he said. 'India can do it.' He called for deeper collaboration among government, industry, and academic institutions, and said the 'Bharat Innovates 2026' summit itself represents an important step toward integrating Indian startups into global markets and technology networks. 'Collaboration is needed. Learning what's going on, comparing ourselves to the rest of the world is important,' he said. India is home to one of the world's largest startup ecosystems, with thousands of ventures operating across software, fintech, healthcare, clean energy, and artificial intelligence — and government initiatives over the past decade have progressively improved access to funding, incubation, and mentorship.