How to develop deep tech startups for national security
The recent drone attack at an Air Force base in Jammu has put the spotlight on where India stands on deep tech and also if the startup space is alive to that question. Truth be told, this space has been witnessing a flurry of activities, signalling the onset of what’s being loosely termed as the ‘second startup revolution’. If the first was led by e-commerce and digital marketplaces, the second is being led by deep tech companies, even in sensitive sectors like defence and space.
Innovative development and deployment of deep tech can tip the balance of power. Take the area of unmanned aerial surveillance and drones. They provide both defensive and offensive options without significantly raising the political costs of escalating any conflict. In India’s case, the urgency is underscored by the sheer need to constantly upgrade surveillance capabilities on its large tracts of borders as well as the expanse of its vast EEZ.
Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX), a defence ministry initiative, is one such effort to leverage the startup environment to improve India’s defence preparedness, equipment design and manufacturing capabilities. It focuses on harnessing open innovation and developing capacities for near and mid-term, rather than simple indigenisation of equipment.
We can now reveal some of our early success stories:
* Tonbo Imaging based out of Bangalore, designs and builds advanced imaging and sensor systems to deal with complex battle environments.
* Chennai-based Big Bang Boom Solutions began their journey by winning iDEX challenges. They are now developing prototypes to ‘Prevent Illegal Usage of Drones’ & ‘See Through Armour’.
* Pune-based Gurutvaa is also working on design and development of Counter Drone Systems for pe ..
Z Motion Autonomous Systems is foraying into unmanned vehicle control technologies with an intent to develop aerial systems with ammunition carrying capability.
* North Street Cooling Towers, Ghaziabad, has joined the IDEX platform to develop carbon fibre filament to help make rocket launchers for the Indian Army.
* Saif Automations, Visakhapatnam, is a marine innovation startup, developing a battery powered self-propelled Life Buoy for the Indian Navy.
BigCat Wireless from IIT Madras Research Park is creating wireless solutions for the forces.
* NoPo Nanotechnologies is a startup specialising in manufacture of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes and could lead India into a select group of few countries with this astounding capability.
* 3rdiTech is a winner of the iDEX challenge and is making a 100 Megapixel camera for Aerial platforms.
The iDEX process has opened up a whole new ecosystem for Indian startups besides lending visibility to their work. The opportunity to work openly, shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces, which are also the eventual end-users is bound to have a positive impact, and help tear down silos. The idea is, that in the long run, this would help these entities build credibility, and even corner foreign contracts.
If provided the right kind of support, it is foreseeable that the next generation of unicorns in our country will be powered by the deep tech startups that experiment, scale and forge strong partnerships with local and national governments.
It has been argued that businesses prosper when governments sleep. But this may not hold true for deep tech startups in sensitive sectors.
Globally, we are observing increased government interest in funding, supporting, and promoting self-reliance in sectors critical to national security like semiconductors, space infrastructure, 5G and defence. For example, the US government actively promotes investments, hands out grants and contracts to companies such as SpaceX, BlueOrigin etc. They also recently announced a $150 billion funding programme dedicated to semiconductors and chip manufacturing.
Similarly, deep tech funding programmes like Israel’s venture capital fund and UK’s Catapult programmes have also demonstrated that initial government support is critical for startups in this space. Likewise, iDEX in India is playing the role in facilitating the development of new businesses in national security-linked sectors in which governments could be the sole buyers.
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