India has become the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, and Indian startups have shown remarkable growth in recent years. The government has also fostered entrepreneurship through many initiatives, such as the Startup India scheme. In 2022, Indian companies secured a remarkable $42 billion investment, marking a substantial surge from the $16 billion they raised the previous year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared January 16, the establishment day of Startup India, as National Startup Day on January 15, 2022. Commencing the event, Narendra Modi emphasized the significance of startups as the bedrock of emerging India. These enterprises played a vital role in India's ascent from the 81st to the 40th on the Global Innovation Index. National Startup Day aims to advocate for entrepreneurs, foster a robust startup ecosystem, and transform India into a country where people create jobs rather than seek them.

The objective of this day is to commemorate the achievements of Indian entrepreneurs and promote an enterprising mindset. Another objective is to provide a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to discuss innovation for the young of India and their contribution to the nation's economy. The rationale for promoting entrepreneurship is to enhance initiatives such as Make-in-India.

Startup India launched eight years ago, has experienced significant development, with the number of startups increasing from over 340 in 2016 to more than 115,000 in 2023. The spirit of entrepreneurship is fostered by many initiatives such as the Seed Fund Scheme, Fund of Funds Scheme, Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups, MAARG mentorship platform, National Startup Awards, and State Ranking Framework.

The state-wise details of total startups recognised under the Startup India initiative as of 30th April 2023 are as follows:

Table source: PIB Delhi

Recently, businesses around the country have rapidly adopted AI as a vital technology. The utilization of AI by startups has proven remarkable in this particular setting. Various AI-based companies cater to the requirements of both individual consumers and other businesses by employing AI and related emerging technologies such as natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL).

The emergence of AI startups in India may be traced back to the year 2016. Within the coming biennium, the AI startup market is poised to see remarkable expansion. Bengaluru, India's prominent center for startups, secured a substantial funding of $87.85 million specifically allocated for the advancement of the AI sector, as per a recent study.

India has become a prominent country in the field of AI due to its significant growth. It has developed a strong ecosystem that supports AI startup experts and entrepreneurs in launching their enterprises.

The AI ecosystem in India is flourishing, with a wide variety of firms securing substantial funding. In 2022, Indian AI businesses raised $1.11 billion via 47 financing rounds. Approximately 17% of these startups specialize in providing conversational AI solutions, while 15% focus on computer vision.

According to a report by SaaSBoomi and McKinsey, the number of Indian GenAI-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startups has more than doubled since 2021, raising $590 million in funding as of May 2023.

Likewise, India surpasses the US regarding businesses' adoption of AI. The market size of GenAI in India is projected to increase by a factor of 15.4 during the next seven years.