Tag Archives: India

Why Indian Tech Is Exploding

The Indian tech industry is growing at an incredible pace:

Indian startups have raised a record $10.46 billion in the first half of 2021, up from $4 billion during the same period last year

Salaries are also increasing rapidly, from an average of $40,000 to $70,000, and even $150,000 for some top engineers.

Why is Indian tech growing so fast? I think several changes in the industry in recent years are weighing in its favor:

  • Major investors went remote due to COVID, and have largely stayed that way even as the pandemic recedes in the US. This means they can meet an Indian entrepreneur just as easily as one across the street in San Francisco. This democratization is great for the entire industry.
  • The venture industry as a whole is on fire, with both exits and valuations in the US reaching staggering levels. This gives venture firms more incentive to look outside the US for better deals, and more cash with which to do so.
  • It’s easier to incorporate in the US than ever. I recently invested in a startup that lets companies incorporate, issue stock options, and handle compliance cheaper and easier than ever before. Many of their customers are outside the US, but incorporate here to make fundraising from American investors easy. (More on this awesome company soon!)
  • India is stacked with tech talent. Anyone who has worked at a software company in the US can tell you that Indian-Americans are a huge part of the industry, and they have incredible skills.
  • China is killing its tech industry. Heavy-handed regulation, massive fines, and even disappearances of tech entrepreneurs is having a chilling effect, and the number of Chinese startups breaking out is way down. India competes with China for venture funds, and right now, it’s looking like the better bet.

New regulations that may require companies to expose users and break encryption are the biggest risk I see on the horizon for Indian tech. But with a deep talent pool and ample funding, India’s is a startup scene to watch.

सौभाग्य!

More on technology:

INDIA IS SOAKING UP VENTURE CAPITAL LIKE A SPONGE

CHINA IS KILLING ITS TECH INDUSTRY

7 COMPANIES HAD 3 MINUTES EACH TO PITCH US. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED.

Photo: “India – Enroute Tso Moriri, Ladakh” by sandeepachetan.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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India Is Soaking Up Venture Capital Like a Sponge

It’s not just about the Bay Area anymore. Indian startups have raised venture funding at a record pace this year, on track to double from 2020:

Startups raised total investments of $7.8 billion in the first four months of this calendar year, which is almost 70% of the overall corpus of $12.1 billion raised in entire 2020 and more than 50% of $14.2 billion raised in 2019, data from US-based research firm PitchBook shows.

More here.

The average deal size is also near record highs, at $25 million. The most valuable venture-backed startup in India is Paytm, a payments and e-commerce company, at $16.7 billion.

India has seen 13 companies reach unicorn status this year ($1 billion valuation and up), an impressive figure. The US remains far and away the leader, with 288 total unicorns as of last month. China has 133, and India is third at 32.

As a US-based investor, I see a lot of companies pitch, but not those from India. The American and Indian VC markets don’t seem well connected. I’m not sure how to fix that, but I’m eager to have access to this big crop of quality companies. The most active VC firms in India are a mix of American and Indian organizations. With numerous people from India staffing (and starting) US tech companies, I hope to see more connections between our markets in the future!

Dig into these posts for more on startups and venture capital:

Photo: “Agra – Taj Mahal” by micbaun is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Reddit/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

Save Money on Stuff I Use:

Fundrise

This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account. I will also get a fee waiver for 90-365 days, depending on what type of account you open.

iHerb

The only place I buy vitamins and supplements. I recently placed an order and received it in less than 48 hours with free shipping! I compared the prices and they were lower than Amazon. I also love how they test a lot of the vitamins so that you know you’re getting what the label says. This isn’t always the case with supplements.

Use this link to save 5%! I’ll also get 5% of however much you spend, at no cost to you.

Misfits Market

My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. I’ll also get $10.

India’s COVID Nightmare: “Bring Oxygen or Take Your Father Away”

At 5 a.m. on Saturday, Aparna Bansal’s cellphone rang. “Can you come now?” said a man from the New Delhi hospital where her 76-year-old father is being treated for Covid-19. The instructions were clear, she said: Bring oxygen or take your father away.

Her husband lines up at 4 a.m. every morning at an oxygen-supply store in east Delhi to buy two cylinders of oxygen to take to separate hospitals treating her mother and father. Neither facility has enough supply to treat the waves of patients coming through every hour.

India is fighting the highest COVID caseload of any country so far. Hospital beds and especially oxygen are running critically short, and deaths are increasingly rapidly. The medical system has nearly collapsed:

India has been reporting more than 2,000 deaths a day for five straight days. The real toll is likely much higher. It is expected to grow in the coming weeks.

A general relaxation of caution earlier this year, along with several massive superspreader events, seeded the current crisis:

Life returned to normal. Weddings and parties resumed. Masks slipped, as did social-distancing rules. A new season of state-level elections ushered in big political rallies and street parades. A massive religious festival known as the Kumbh Mela was allowed to take place, bringing millions of Hindu pilgrims to the banks of the river Ganges and sending a message that there was no reason to worry about Covid-19.

By mid-March, cases started climbing again—then accelerated with breathtaking speed, becoming a vertical line rather than an upward sloping curve.

Much more here.

Many had put their faith in an herbal remedy called Coronil, which was even touted by Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. However, there is little evidence behind the treatment.

Reports from people inside India right now are dire:

You can find the full thread on India’s crisis here, and another excellent thread on how it began here.

Dig into these posts for more on COVID:

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Could a Head Lice Medication Help COVID Patients?

There is increasing evidence that ivermectin, a drug usually used for head lice and other parasitic infections, may help COVID patients. A new randomized controlled trial from India found patients with mild to moderate COVID admitted to the hospital were more likely to survive.

Another study from Florida also showed lower mortality among patients given ivermectin, but others have shown no effect. There are also concerns about being able to safely get to the necessary blood levels of ivermectin in humans.

The investigation of this drug as a treatment is ongoing, and we cannot definitively say yet whether it works or not. But given its low cost and wide availability, it could be very helpful in the fight against COVID if it is found to be effective. Many trials are ongoing.

“Pills” by Grumpy-Puddin is licensed under CC BY 2.0