If a startup can reach orbit, India can build AI the world wants: Satyan Gajwani, Chairman, Times Internet

Satyan Gajwani, Chairman, Times Internet, addresses the ET Startup Awards 2026 in Bengaluru. He opens with Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 launch from Sriharikota, which he says made India only the third country, after the US and China, with a private company able to reach space. For him, it marks a maturing of India's startup ecosystem: after fintech, food delivery, SaaS and quick commerce, founders are now building semiconductor chips, AI, robotics, clean energy technologies and new materials, backed by investors willing to wait longer. He closes on a candid note: as the US and China race ahead in artificial intelligence, India's progress has been slower than it should be. Closing the gap, he says, will take deep research, serious compute, entrepreneurial vision and patient capital.