At the 2025 ICONN Summit, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with KPMG and Synopsys, presented India’s first comprehensive Engineering Hardware Industry Startup Ecosystem Report.
In order to create relationships that will propel India’s innovation-led and sustainable growth journey toward Viksit Bharat @2047, the Summit seeks to bring together corporate companies, investors, and startups.
Key Findings and Recommendations:
- Infrastructure and Tech Adoption (52%): Startups cite the lack of specialized facilities as a key challenge. The report recommends setting up testing facilities, fabrication labs, and prototyping centers in collaboration with public and private entities.
- Favorable Funding Landscape (73%): The whitepaper notes that while funding opportunities are expanding, accessibility remains limited for early-stage ventures. The report recommends creating dedicated funds and investment vehicles targeted at hardware startups through VC firms, angel investors, corporate venture arms, or government-backed investment entities along with early-stage capital and investor matchmaking support to help startups in their initial stages of setup and development.
- Talent Pool Availability (67%): A major constraint for hardware startups is the shortage of technically trained professionals. The report recommends investing in virtual training sessions (for example, using mixed reality devices) and conducting workshops to enhance technical skills, while collaborating with academia to provide training, workshops, and internships on real-world, industry-level problems to shape next-generation talent.
- Recommendations for startups: To create long-term differentiation and scalability, the report recommends startups to focus on value-added partnerships, improve digital capabilities, and prioritize sustainable product development.
- Recommendations for policymakers: To ensure a favorable environment for innovation and commercialization, the report calls for robust partnership between academia and industry, constant improvement in regulatory support, and strong IP protection frameworks.
- Recommendations for investors and institutions: To advance and deliver impact over time, the report recommends that investors and institutions highlight the importance of outcome-oriented funding mechanisms and patient capital, which will enable deep-tech and hardware ventures.
The Hardware Industry Startup Ecosystem Report is said to offer a thorough overview of India’s changing hardware innovation landscape and its challenges, along with practical recommendations for stakeholders across the ecosystem, from startups and investors to policymakers and institutions, and is set to power India’s Viksit Bharat vision. The engineering hardware industry is expected to grow at a high rate, reaching $296 billion by 2034.
Cleantech, defense, electronics, and advanced manufacturing are just a few of the industries covered by the research, which gathers insights from more than 100 engineering and hardware firms.
The report provides an actionable roadmap with important recommendations for startups, investors, and policymakers that goes beyond data and aims to accelerate innovation, foster collaboration, and propel sustainable growth throughout the industry. It does this by providing extensive quantitative analysis of market size, investment trends, and growth projections within India’s engineering hardware ecosystem.
The Hardware Industry Startup Ecosystem Report emphasizes how strategic cooperation and persistent innovation would revolutionize India’s engineering hardware industry, which is essential to the nation’s technologically driven progress. The whitepaper identifies potential to accelerate growth, attract investments, and create internationally competitive hardware companies with collaboration from academia, startups, and industry experts.
CII, KPMG, and Synopsys collaborated to create the Engineering Hardware Industry Startup Ecosystem Report, which aims to foster dialogue and propel strategic initiatives that enhance India’s standing as a global center for engineering innovation.
Leadership Comments
C K Ranganathan, Co-Chairman, CII National Startup Council, said about the report “CII is proud to present this pivotal whitepaper, developed in collaboration with KPMG and Synopsys, which explores the immense potential of India’s engineering hardware startup ecosystem. As India advances toward the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, deep-tech and hardware innovation will serve as vital drivers in achieving global leadership in manufacturing and technology.”
“Drawing from extensive insights and comprehensive research, this publication outlines a strategic roadmap to unlock growth, foster innovation, and strengthen competitiveness across the hardware ecosystem. Together with our partners, CII remains committed to transforming these insights into impactful action, positioning India’s engineering hardware startups as a cornerstone of the Viksit Bharat vision,” said Ranganathan.
Speaking about the report, Murali Pullela, Area Sales Director, Synopsys Inc. said, “As a global leader in engineering solutions from silicon to systems, we believe in the transformative power of technology to redefine industries and accelerate innovation. This report has captured the immense potential of India’s engineering hardware startup ecosystem. Startups have cited barriers like access to digital tools (53%) and affordable design technologies (55%) as major growth constraints and that begins with access to advanced simulation and design tools – exactly where we empower innovators to turn ideas into real-world impact.”
“Strategic interventions are the need of the hour to unlock the sector’s full potential and we, at Synopsys, are committed to empowering startups with advanced simulation capabilities, helping them translate bold ideas into breakthrough innovations that strengthen India’s position in the global engineering landscape,” added Murali.
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