✦ India · Startups · 2026

Lift‑Off
Nation

Why We Are Entering the Golden Age of Indian Startups

The authoritative book on India’s startup scene by two veterans.

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The Lift-Off Nation book cover, by Rajan Anandan and Saurabh Srivastava

The Book

Why the time for India’s startups is now

Once upon a time, India accounted for 25% of global GDP.

Two startup veterans — Saurabh Srivastava, one of India’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and institution‑builders, who co‑founded NASSCOM, TIE and the Indian Angel Network, and Rajan Anandan, ex‑head of Google, Microsoft and Dell in India and now a Managing Director at Peak XV Partners — argue that it can do so again, by harnessing India’s startups.

With a fascinating array of case studies and data points, they give five compelling reasons why the time for India’s startup ecosystem is now.

Five reasons, one moment

Why the authors argue India’s startup moment has arrived

01

World‑class talent is starting up

A new generation of founders has been schooled in India’s first wave of “academy” startups. Increasingly, others are starting up after experiencing world‑class innovation at scale inside some of the world’s largest companies.

02

A Cambrian explosion of opportunities

India is witnessing innovation across every sector of its economy — from consumer‑facing companies to core sectors like financial services and healthcare, and emerging deep‑tech arenas such as space and AI.

03

Founders are building for the world

These founders aren’t just building for India — they’re innovating for the world. Around 40 per cent of new seed‑funded startups in 2025 were built for the world from day zero.

04

Growth in funding

Venture capital funding has grown five times over the past decade, and India’s public markets are now open for business to startup IPOs.

05

Supportive government

India has a supportive government that has driven sweeping regulatory reforms and built digital public infrastructure — like Aadhaar and UPI — that is the envy of the world.

By the numbers

The result speaks for itself

3rd

Largest and fastest‑growing startup ecosystem by number of startups, behind only the US and China.

$400B+

Combined valuation of Indian startups, reached within a single decade.

$325B

Market cap of all Indian IT services companies combined — after 35 years, for comparison.

5×

Growth in venture capital funding into Indian startups over the past 12 years.

~40%

Of new seed‑funded startups in 2025 built for the world from day zero.

25%

Share of GDP India once held — and the ambition this book argues it can reclaim.

And this is just the start.

With interviews with many leading founders, investors, policymakers and academics in the Indian startup ecosystem, The Lift‑Off Nation is an authoritative, sharply argued and deeply insightful book that gives a truly comprehensive picture of the current state and future potential of the fastest‑growing startup ecosystem on the planet.

Authors

Two veterans in the startup ecosystem

Co‑author

Rajan Anandan

Rajan Anandan is a Managing Director at Peak XV Partners, where he focuses on AI and deep‑tech investments and leads Surge, the firm’s seed stage investing platform. Prior to Peak XV, Rajan was head of Google India and Southeast Asia, and also led Microsoft and Dell in India. He started his career at McKinsey & Company in Chicago. Before transitioning to his full‑time investing role, Rajan was a prolific angel investor and backed over 200 startups at very early stages. Rajan is a member of the National Startup Advisory Council, two‑time Chairman of the IAMAI and former Chairman of the VC Council of the IVCA.

Co‑author

Saurabh Srivastava

Saurabh Srivastava is one of India’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and institution builders. He is Co‑founder and former Chairman of NASSCOM, the IVCA, TIE (world’s largest organisation focused on entrepreneurship) and the Indian Angel Network, India’s first angel investor group. Saurabh also chairs TDB’s investment committee set up for investing in companies raising money from the RDI Fund, as part of the strategy to invest Rs 1,00,000 crore in deep‑tech companies to create strategic autonomy and sovereign technology for India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.

Praise

What India’s builders are saying

“

Lift‑Off Nation is the definitive book on India’s startup ecosystem – sharp, insightful and deeply reported. Essential reading for founders, investors, policymakers and anyone who cares about how India is reinventing itself.

Nandan NilekaniCo‑founder and Chairman, Infosys and Founding Chairman, UIDAI

“

India’s startup revolution is not just a business story – it is the most powerful engine of economic transformation this country has seen since liberalisation. This book makes that case with clarity and force.

Sanjeev BikhchandaniFounder and Executive Vice Chairman, Info Edge

“

I hope the next phase of India’s innovation and startup ecosystem will focus on deep‑tech industries that also involve advanced manufacturing. We have the opportunity to build globally leading companies in many spaces. This book attempts to capture that essence.

Deepinder GoyalFounder, Eternal, Temple and LAT

“

We are entering an era where intelligence will become the foundational infrastructure of every business and society. The founders in this book are the pioneers leading that transformation from India, for the world. Their journeys reveal not just where technology is headed, but who will shape it.

Naveen TewariFounder and CEO, InMobi Group