10 years of the mission: Startup India a revolution, says PM Modi

As Startup India turns 10, a surge in IPOs and AI-led innovation shows how India's startup ecosystem is maturing from rapid growth to sustainable scale

The country’s startup ecosystem transitions into a mature phase as the Startup India Mission marks ten years of its launch, a journey increasingly defined by successful initial public offerings (IPOs) and a shift towards sustainable, long-term business models.

 

Speaking at Bharat Mandapam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described the Startup India Mission as a revolution that transformed the country’s entrepreneurial landscape over the past decade.

 

“In just 10 years, the Startup India Mission has turned into a revolution. India is currently the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. Ten years ago, the country had less than 500 startups but now, the count has grown to more than 200,000 startups. In 2014, there were just four unicorns but now there are over 125 active unicorns.”

   

PM Modi urged startups to focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-led innovations.

 

The country’s IPO market scaled to a record high in calendar year 2025.

 

According to a report from Kotak Investment Banking, IPO volumes grew 13 per cent year-on-year in 2025, standing at ₹1,89,020 crore. Another report said that one of the highlights of the year was the rise of startup listings with as many as 18 startups, including Lenskart, Groww, Meesho and PhysicsWallah, going public and collectively raising over ₹41,000 crore. In 2024, startups raised ₹29,000 crore from the primary market.

 

“We now need to prepare ourselves for the future and work on new ideas. There are several domains emerging, such as AI, that will play an important role in strategic security and autonomy. A nation’s competitive advantage in the future will depend on how far it advances in AI innovation, and in India, startups must lead this effort,” PM Modi said.

 

Referring to the government’s efforts, the prime minister highlighted measures such as easing compliance cycles, setting up of incubation centres, opening the space sector for private players, establishing a Deep-tech Fund of Funds, and a Research, Development and Innovation Fund worth ₹1 lakh crore.

 

Sharing some numbers, the PM noted that 48 per cent of startups are women-led (with at least one-woman director) and more than ₹25,000 crore has been disbursed to date under the first edition of the Fund of Funds scheme for startups. In 2025, over 44,000 startups were given recognition by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

 

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union minister of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said that currently 80 per cent of home-grown startups are AI-led and the design linked incentive (DLI) scheme has extended support to 23 startups so far.

 

“Bharat’s deep-tech startup ecosystem is expanding, driven by focused policy and funding support. Today, 80 per cent of our startups are AI-led. DLI scheme under India Semiconductor Mission has supported 23 startups so far. For institutional funding, the $1 billion India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) was announced at Semicon India 2025,” Vaishnaw said in a social media post.

 

Even as the PM congratulated the stakeholders, several venture capitalists also lauded the startup ecosystem and its evolution in the past decade.

 

Archana Jahagirdar, the founder and managing partner of Rukam Capital, said that the emphasis has shifted decisively to sustainable and long-term business models, and the initial public offering (IPO) market is witnessing growth.

 

“Since 2021-22, India’s IPO market shifted to a structurally sounder trajectory, with tech-led firms as initial sector leaders, spreading across various sectors thereafter. This has been maintained well into 2024 and 2025, with record capital raised, larger-sized issues, with widespread participation in both mainboard and SME (small and medium enterprises) listings, underpinned by deep domestic liquidity,” Jahagirdar added.

 

Angel investor Lloyd Mathias added, “IPO’s of marquee startups in the last few years have proved as a welcome route for investors to cash out. Pre-2016 exits were tougher as very few startups managed to get to an IPO. The maturing market is a positive sign and will keep investor interest in startups buoyant.”

 

Bhaskar Majumdar, the managing partner of Unicorn India Ventures, added that the government push and changes undertaken by the market regulator has created an environment conducive for exits.

 

“Now, a large number of startups are doing IPOs and enabling liquidity to their early investors and that is further spiralling the ecosystem. Fuelled by this, more and more investors are slowly becoming LPs (limited partners) in funds and investing directly in startups,” he said.