ETSA 2026: Indian deeptech firms need government as first customer to compete globally, says Agrani Labs CEO

Indian deeptech companies need the government to act as an early customer to help them establish their products in the market and compete with global incumbents, Dheemanth Nagaraj of Agrani Labs said at the ET Startup Awards 2026 in Bengaluru.

Nagaraj said products built in India must meet global standards, as customers in the country have little appetite for substandard alternatives simply because they are cheaper.

“There is no space for building a substandard product at a lower cost. In this case, that doesn't work,” he said, adding that data centre requirements in India were not very different from those globally.

He said government support could help Indian companies demonstrate that their technology is competitive and capable of scaling, making it easier to win customers in India and abroad.

“The government has to be the first customer and create markets, because it is not a level playing field,” Nagaraj said, adding that competing with established players involved challenges beyond the quality of the product itself.

He said building technology in India could also give companies greater control over their intellectual property and help strengthen the country's technological sovereignty.