I just returned from a week-long trip to India. Most of this trip was meeting entrepreneurs and investors centered around spending time with the team from Bolt in Bangalore (a USV portfolio company). This was my second time in India, following a family vacation in 2015. Here are some observations from my visit:
First, the mood in the country feels optimistic and assertive. People I spoke to, not just from the tech ecosystem, but also drivers, tour guides, waiters, students, and professors, all seemed excited and energized. There was a distinct sense of India emerging as a global powerhouse that has the potential to rival China. As it turns out quite a few government policies are aimed at protecting Indian industrial growth and separating it from China (including the recent ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps). Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend watching the movie RRR. It is a “muscular” embodiment of the spirit that I encountered that based on my admittedly unscientific polling was much liked by younger people there (and hardly watched by older ones).
Second, air pollution in Delhi was as bad as I remembered it and in Mumbai way worse. Mumbai now appears to be on par with Delhi. For example, here is a picture taken from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which is en route from the airport, where you can barely see the high rise buildings of the city across the bay.
Third, there is an insane amount of construction everywhere. Not just new buildings going up but also new sewer lines, elevated highways, and rail systems. Most of these were yet to be completed but it is clear that the country is on a major infrastructure spree. Some of these projects are extremely ambitious, such as the new coastal road for Mumbai.
Fourth, traffic is even more dysfunctional than I remember it and distances are measured in time, not miles. Depending on the time of day, it can easily take one hour to get somewhere that would be ten minutes away without traffic. This is true for all the big cities I went to visit on this trip (Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore). I don’t really understand how people can plan for attending in person meetings but I suppose one gets used to it. I wound up taking one meeting simply in a car en route to the next one.
Fifth, in venture capital there are now many local funds, meaning funds that are not branded offshoots of US funds, such as Sequoia India. I spent time with the team from Prime Venture Partners (co-investors in Bolt) and Good Capital among others. It is great to see that in addition to software focused funds there are also ones focused on agtech/food (e.g. Omnivore) and deep tech (e.g. Navam Capital). Interestingly all the ones I talked to have only offshore LPs. There is not yet a broad India LP base other than a few family offices and regulations within India are apparently quite cumbersome, so the funds are domiciled in the US or in Mauritius.
Sixth, the “India Stack” is enabling a ton of innovation and deserves to be more widely known outside of India (US regulators should take note). In particular, the availability of a verified digital identity and of unified payments interfaces is incredibly helpful in the creation of new online and offline experiences, such as paying for a charge on the Bolt charging network. This infrastructure creates a much more level playing field and is very startup friendly. Add to this incredibly cheap data plans and you have the foundations for a massive digitally led transformation.
Seventh, India is finally recognizing the importance of the climate crisis both as a threat and as an opportunity. India is already experiencing extreme temperatures in some parts of the country on a regular basis (the opening of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future extrapolates what that might lead to). India is also dependent on sufficient rainfall during the Monsoon season and those patterns are changing also (this is part of the plot of Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock). As far as opportunity goes, India recently discovered a major lithium deposit, which means that a key natural resource for the EV transition exists locally (unlike oil which has to be imported). India has started to accelerate EV adoption by offering subsidies.
All in all this trip has made me bullish on India. Over the coming years I would not be surprised if we wind up with more investments from USV there, assuming we can find companies that are a fit with our investment theses. In the meantime, I will look for some public market opportunities for my personal portfolio.
