That’s not all though. In a first-ever ticketed format, the repurposed 2024 ET Soonicorns Summit is meticulously designed to gauge the mood and read the pulse of the startup ecosystem. Expect sector-focused tracks, thematic topics, tailored dialogues, dedicated spaces, and curated conversations—all thoughtfully crafted from the point of view of ecosystem players. So, expect only streamlined conversations focused on what matters. Towards that end, hurry now to avail the last-minute offer.
The ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 is set to transcend the realm of resilience and adopt a forward-looking approach to talk about resurgence. How to leverage the lessons learnt during challenging times to build a stronger, more sustainable future for Indian startups? What will enable the next league of disruptors, innovators, and category creators? Experts at the summit will tell you how. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 will serve as a definitive platform where the future of Indian innovation is shaped.
Move past generic conversations as this is where distinguished unicorn leaders and soonicorn founders, veteran venture capitalists (VCs), formidable startup pioneers and category creators, policymakers, and sector experts will converge to separate facts from fiction, distil critical insights from information saturation, outline the priorities, and share actionable strategise to mobilise the next chapters of innovation in an AI-driven landscape.
It’s now or never! Limited seats available. To register now, click here.
The core messaging of Recalibrate. Rebound. Reinvent
Discover the stories of your interest
If 2023 was about surviving the storm, resetting targets, and delivering focused results, 2024 heralds a new dawn, a march towards resilience where startups recalibrate business models, rebound with renewed vigour, and reinvent to embrace holistic change and discard the frills and whatever didn’t work.
The Indian startup landscape underwent an overhaul in 2023, driven by a need to reassess and realign to engineer their response to a prolonged “funding winter.” As venture capital became more selective, startups were compelled to innovate, pivoting towards sustainable and resilient business models. Artificial intelligence (AI) emerged to be the engine of future growth. Venture debt also emerged as a vital lifeline, helping startups maintain momentum while recalibrating their strategies.
Building upon the previous year’s playbook of resilience, the year 2024 has already exhibited the signs of a more resolute march towards recovery, a transition towards resurgence.
It is at this crossroads of change, the shifting of gear, and an impetus for recovery that the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 returns with its third edition to Bengaluru on 20 September. Poised to explore this very transition from resilience to resurgence through carefully curated conversations, this summit, a premier initiative by The Economic Times, seeks to chart the next frontiers of growth for India’s startup ecosystem.
India’s Techade and a stratospheric startup story
From the rides we hail to the web series we watch, from the meals and groceries we order to the online payments we make…the list could go on. During the past decade if there’s one aspect that has touched the lives of most Indians it has to be a smartphone—as of January 2023, India had some 650 million smartphone users. Enabled by the Internet, smartphone penetration has made the average Indian experience apps. Although differentiated by income inequalities, rural-urban divides, and so on, technology has touched the average Indian’s life, reshaping the way we consume, commute, and communicate.
At the heart of this tale of a decade of digitalisation lies the India Stack, with its hallmark Aadhaar programme connecting over 1.3 billion people to the digital world. Intricately tied to this audacious tale of digital disruption is the journey of the Indian startup ecosystem, spurring innovations and bridging gaps in the market through tech-enabled products and services to serve consumers in the new era of connected commerce.
As India seeks to continue with its ‘Techade’ momentum, it is worth examining the pivots that are driving the next frontiers of growth. It is worth noting that startups have played a crucial role in job creation, contributing around 10 lakh new jobs by 2023, as per the Economic Survey 2023.
The ebb and flow, towards a new dawn
Over the past decade, India has scaled the landscape of innovation and entrepreneurship, witnessing a rise in the creation and funding of startups. The country’s status as a global hub for tech-driven enterprises has been cemented with an impressive 122,000 tech companies now calling India home. In 2020 alone, more than 16,000 new tech startups were born, marking a peak in this entrepreneurial journey. The funding landscape evolved just as rapidly, with 2020 and 2021 recording the highest levels of investment with investors from across the globe placing their bets on the Indian dream.
However, the journey of Indian startups has not been without its trials. The Indian startup ecosystem faced a tough funding winter over the past two years, reeling from a massive blow in funding in sync with global macroeconomic trends and geopolitical tensions. The silver lining though is that despite the headwinds of 2023, the Indian startup ecosystem was compelled to dive deep into its structural weaknesses, taking steps to correct unit economics and lay the foundation of robust, sustainable growth models beyond vanity metrics. This soul-searching and inward-looking approach—although a time of lonely introspection and frantic uncertainty—experts believe, ultimately paved the way for innovation and pragmatism. Overall, commentators busy noting down the seismic shifts in the Indian startup landscape have credited ecosystem players for showing remarkable resilience.
As the Indian startup ecosystem seems to shake off the haze of the prolonged funding winter, to relaunch itself into the era of resilience, all the while recalibrating its priorities, rebounding with renewed dynamism, imbued with the confidence of having learnt lessons from the stagnant year, and reinventing its grammar, the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 returns to Bengaluru, a startup ecosystem and innovation-economy ally and enabler, to propel this journey forward. As it was during the intense period of introspection, enabling startups to navigate tricky terrains with robust strategies.
To register now, click here. Limited seats, hurry!
From resilience to resurgence: A glance at the agenda
The title of this year’s summit, ‘From Resilience to Resurgence,’ encapsulates the core theme and the strategic shift towards recovery. With the underlying message of Recalibrate. Rebound. Reinvent, the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 gives a call to action for startups to innovate strategically, ensuring that they are not just surviving but thriving in this new landscape. The summit will serve as a platform for critical conversations on financial prudence, regulatory foresight, and the disruptive potential of AI, all essential components of the next phase of growth.
Here’s a look at the key tracks and topics:
- The inaugural track Funding Spring Not Far Away? features a panel discussion titled ‘Surge in Investor Interest: Vision and Outlook of the Indian VC Ecosystem Beyond Hype and Uncertainty’
- Startups’ Homecoming track featuring a panel on ‘Homecoming Heroes: Unveiling the Strategic Shift of Startups to India and its Tax Payout Conundrum’
- A panel discussion titled ‘Women in the Indian Startup Ecosystem: Breaking Barriers and Bridging the Gender Funding Gap’
- Our dedicated track ‘Fintechs, Unstoppable’ will navigate the tightrope between innovation and regulation through a panel discussion titled ‘Fintech: How to Strike the Balance Between Regulatory Lens and Growth’
- ‘India’s AI Edge’ track will present a roundtable titled ‘Countering Deepfakes, Inauthentic Content: Responding to the Ethical AI Imperative Through India’s AI Policy and Global Regulations’ and a TED Talk titled ‘Empowering India’s Deep Tech & AI Landscape: Policies, Perspectives, and India-First Models for GenAI Growth’
- A panel on ‘Sustainable Futures: Insights from Changemakers in India’s Climate Tech, Clean Energy, and EV Sectors’
- The panel discussion ‘Expanding the Indian SaaS Footprint at Home and Abroad: Scaling Strategies to Achieve the $37B Target’ will be part of the SaaS, Surging
A revamped summit for a revitalised ecosystem
For the first time, the summit will be a ticketed event, featuring sector-specific tracks and tailored discussions.
The summit will also continue its tradition of spotlighting soonicorns—startups on the cusp of becoming unicorns—as leaders from the soonicorn club decode their playbooks.
At the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024, investors will take the stage to discuss their approaches to navigating the current funding landscape, predict future trends, and identify new growth frontiers. The summit’s line-up of speakers is already a riveting mix, featuring voices from the world of writing to investment, policies, and technology.
Looking ahead
India’s economic future is inextricably linked to the success of its startup ecosystem.
As the global economy stabilises, an uptick in investment activity is expected, further solidifying India’s position as a top destination for investors. The ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 will be the stage where these future trends are decoded, offering a glimpse into the sectors and strategies that will define the next wave of growth for India’s startup ecosystem.
upGrad is the upskilling partner for the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024.
Watch this space as we continue to unveil the names of esteemed speakers and bring in-depth analysis of the sessions that are set to lend a new heft to the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024. A first-ever ticketed, premier platform for conversations that matter.
To learn more about the ET Soonicorns Summit, visit the website.
To register now, click here