Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stirred the pot last week at Startup Mahakumbh 2025, taking a swing at India’s startup ecosystem. His gripe? Too many Indian entrepreneurs are busy churning out food delivery apps and “fancy ice creams” instead of diving into deep-tech fields like semiconductors, AI, and robotics. “Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?” he asked, flashing a slide comparing India’s startup scene to China’s high-tech juggernaut. “Do we want to make ice cream or chips?”
It’s a punchy soundbite, and Goyal’s not entirely wrong—India could use more innovation in cutting-edge tech. But his critique feels like a half-truth, one that scapegoats founders while glossing over the messy reality of building a startup in India. Let’s unpack this.
The Grain of Truth
Goyal’s got a point: India’s startup boom has leaned heavily on consumer tech. Food delivery giants like Swiggy and Zomato, quick-commerce players like Zepto, and a slew of D2C brands dominate the headlines—and the funding. Meanwhile, deep-tech startups in AI, biotech, or semiconductors are rarer, often smaller, and less hyped. China, by contrast, boasts giants like BYD in electric vehicles and a thriving semiconductor ecosystem, fueled by decades of state-backed investment.
He’s also right to nudge entrepreneurs toward ambition. India’s third-largest startup ecosystem shouldn’t settle for being a gig-economy factory. The world’s moving fast—AI models, quantum computing, green tech—and we risk being left behind if we don’t pivot. Goyal’s “ice cream or chips” quip, cheeky as it is, lands when you think about how many “healthy” cookie brands are just repackaged hustle, not groundbreaking innovation.
Where He Misses the Mark
But here’s where Goyal’s critique starts to wobble: it’s easy to dunk on founders when you’re not the one in the trenches. Building a startup in India isn’t a straight shot to glory—it’s a gauntlet of red tape, shaky infrastructure, and a funding desert for anything that doesn’t promise quick returns. Zepto’s CEO Aadit Palicha fired back on X, pointing out his company’s 1.5 lakh jobs, ₹1,000 crore in taxes, and $1 billion in FDI. “If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I don’t know what is,” he wrote. He’s not wrong—consumer tech isn’t just “dukaandari” (shopkeeping); it’s solving real problems at scale.
Goyal’s China comparison feels unfair too. China’s deep-tech rise didn’t happen because its founders woke up one day feeling ambitious—it’s the result of $845 billion in state investment from 2014 to 2024, per Mohandas Pai’s rebuttal. India? We’ve coughed up $160 billion in the same period. Beijing’s poured cash into R&D, built industrial parks, and shielded its startups from foreign competition. India’s government, meanwhile, has offered tax holidays and a Startup India scheme, but founders still wrestle with power cuts (ask Murtaza Amin in Burhanpur), bribe-hungry bureaucrats, and an RBI that spooks overseas investors. Goyal’s asking for Silicon Valley output with tier-2 town support.
The Billionaire Kids Jab
Then there’s the dig at “billionaire kids” making fancy ice creams. It’s a crowd-pleaser—who doesn’t love a jab at privilege?—but it’s a cheap shot. Sure, some D2C brands are vanity projects with daddy’s money, but plenty of consumer startups, from Boat to Mamaearth, started scrappy and scaled up. Dismissing them as “not real startups” ignores how they’ve created jobs, disrupted markets, and built Indian brands in a space long dominated by multinationals. Goyal’s right that we need more than cookies, but why trash what’s working instead of building on it?
The Real Problem: Ecosystem, Not Ambition
Here’s the kicker: Indian startups aren’t unambitious—they’re pragmatic. Venture capital in India chases 10x returns in five years, not 20-year moonshots. Deep-tech needs patient capital, labs, and a government that doesn’t drown you in paperwork. Ashneer Grover nailed it on X: “China had food delivery first, then evolved to deep tech. Maybe politicians should aspire for 10%+ growth for 20 years before chiding today’s job creators.” Startups reflect the ecosystem they’re in, and ours rewards scale over substance.
Take semiconductors. Goyal wants India to make chips, not deliver pizzas. Great—except we’re a decade behind China, with no domestic supply chain and a talent pool lured abroad by better pay. The government’s ₹76,000 crore semiconductor push is a start, but it’s a drop in the bucket. Founders can’t conjure an industry out of thin air—they need roads, power, and policies that don’t choke them.
A Better Way Forward
Goyal’s heart might be in the right place—he followed up with a startup helpline announcement, a nod to the grind founders face. But finger-wagging won’t spark a deep-tech revolution. If he wants chips over ice cream, here’s what’s needed: pump real money into R&D (our 0.7% of GDP spend is a joke next to China’s 2.4%), fix the basics (no more unscheduled power cuts), and stop the RBI from treating foreign investors like suspects. Oh, and maybe don’t slap angel taxes on startups while preaching innovation—Pai’s still salty about that.
Founders aren’t the enemy here. They’re hustling in a system that’s half-baked. Palicha’s right—consumer tech isn’t the problem; it’s the foundation. Google and Amazon started as “dukaans” too, then built AI empires. Let’s not shame the hustle—let’s fund the future.
The Bottom Line
Goyal’s critique is a wake-up call, but it’s aimed at the wrong target. India’s startup scene isn’t perfect, and yes, we need more deep-tech swagger. But don’t blame the kids slinging cookies or the apps feeding millions—blame the game they’re forced to play. Fix that, and we might just get those chips Goyal’s dreaming of. Until then, this “reality check” feels more like a mic drop without a beat.
