Expanding into foreign markets & bringing in foreign investors to Indian shores

Indian companies have been expanding outside domestic shores in sectors like deep tech, IT, and fintech. At the same time, foreign companies have shown interest in entering the Indian market in spaces like semiconductors and cybersecurity.

The Deep Tech space is experiencing an unprecedented growth trajectory. The 5G deep structure market alone, a crucial segment of this sector, was valued at about US$20.19 billion in 2022 and is expected to skyrocket to US$348.76 billion by 2030, marking a CAGR of 45.2%.

Similarly, the IoT market, with a valuation of approximately $544.38 billion in 2022, is anticipated to expand to $3,352.97 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 26.1%. These sectors are thriving due to the rising demand for high-bandwidth and the integration of advanced technologies in diverse industries.

Technologies like 5G and IoT are not just transforming industries but are also significantly impacting everyday life and work. From revolutionizing internet access to transforming industrial operations and enhancing healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors through AI and Big Data, these advancements are leading us towards more connected, efficient, and smarter societies.

Often partnerships also symbolize a synergistic blend of profound insights into investing in the private sector in emerging markets. For example, this month, IFC and Solcon Capital tied up to identify and nurture investment opportunities in the Deep Tech sector within India and South Africa, with the goal of propelling the digital economy in these burgeoning markets.

The initiative will focus on critical areas such as 5G, AI, IoT, Big Data, and Cybersecurity. Solcon Capital has two decades of experience in building innovative companies in the Deep Tech space.

This is a move that promises to reshape the Deep Tech landscape in both India and South Africa

“This is a move that promises to reshape the Deep Tech landscape in both India and South Africa”, said Pramod Venkatesh, CEO of Solcon Capital.

India is also likely to see its car game upped in the very near future. In February, Hanover, Germany based technology company Continental has been showing interest in the Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) vision in India to develop state-of-the-art vehicle system functions powered by High Performance Computer (HPC). 

Continental India is driven by our commitment towards R&D as well as advanced technological capabilities with a dedicated focus on localization—thus bridging India with the world

Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India

Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India, said, “Continental India is driven by our commitment towards R&D as well as advanced technological capabilities with a dedicated focus on localization—thus bridging India with the world. Our clear roadmap emphasizes growth and value creation by leveraging technology to secure a strategic advantage in the market. By expanding our technological footprint in India, Continental aims to meet global demands in mobility.”

Continental’s Bangalore plant, which is Continental’s largest electronics plant in India and Technical Center India (TCI), will have a huge role to play in realizing the new growth strategy. Some of the recent developments include consistent investments to ramp up localization of safety and connected car technologies at the Bangalore Plant.

While TCI mobilized investment of close to INR1000 crore which included the inauguration of its new center in 2022, has grown remarkably both in terms of people and software systems competencies. Continental’s Gurgaon Plant is also striding towards localization of advanced electronic brake systems and brake-by-wire solutions. With this Continental is in a good position to front-end the dynamic market trends.

India is a value-driven market, and Continental’s local strategy is to optimize and refine efficiencies by automating manufacturing plants. Committed to evaluating product demands and aligning with localization efforts, TCI is contributing to this. TCI combines the rapidly growing engineering competencies and teams in India and caters to Automotive Research and Development (R&D) requirements for Indian and global markets. TCI houses hi-tech software, hardware, and vehicle test facilities for R&D and a plethora of training centers, with each floor equipped with multiple collaboration areas. With a strong workforce, TCI is one of Continental’s largest and key R&D locations globally, catering to both global and local markets.

Others are eyeing the Indian car market too. Last year, Tesla has had a red-carpet welcome from India after it proposed to invest in the country, while its largest rival in electric vehicles, China’s BYD, has been stopped cold by increased scrutiny from New Delhi.

In November, TelioLabs, a software player in the fields of IoT, telecom, enterprise, cloud computing, and managed services, tied up with US-headquartered SingleStore which provides database technology that lets users transact, analyze and contextualize data in real-time.

Under the partnership, TelioLabs will be an official SingleStore licensee and can market, sell, and resell SingleStore’s products. The partnership also enables SingleStore to reach larger B2B customers through TelioLabs in India, SAARC, and South East Asia regions. The partnership will also strengthen the IT and technology ties between India and the US.

Last year, Credgenics, the Indian provider of SaaS-based debt collections technology platform, was picked up by Investree, an Indonesian fintech lending company to digitally transform debt collections by implementing Credgenics’ integrated technology platform. Since Credgenics is AI powered Investree will leverage their multiple modules and insights driven strategic capabilities in omni-channel digital communications combined with voice bots, and predictive dialer.

Certain businesses are bringing in foreign investment into India. For example, this month, Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) opened its new R&D facility in Bengaluru, marking a significant milestone in SSIR’s commitment to driving cutting-edge semiconductor R&D in India. This is SSIR’s second office in Bengaluru, with a capacity to accommodate close to sixteen hundred professionals.

Located at Bagmane Capital Tech Park in Angkor-West, the facility spans 1, 60,000 square feet across four floors. SSIR currently has a strength of over 4,500 employees and will add over 700 people including fresh graduates as well as lateral hires across teams in India.

Also, CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD) opened its new office in Pune, significantly strengthening the company’s presence in the region. Headquartered in the US with global operations, CrowdStrike is a fast growing innovative security company that has been investing in India since 2018, when it first opened the CrowdStrike Innovation and Development Center in Pune to serve as its regional hub for talent, innovation and customer engagement.