Aman Gupta Supports Piyush Goyal’s Call For Indian Startups To Move Beyond Delivery Apps

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stirred up a storm recently with his remarks at Startup Mahakumbh, where he questioned whether India should settle for building grocery and ice cream delivery apps while countries like China are investing in deep tech areas like AI, EVs, and semiconductors.

"What are we doing-creating food delivery apps so the rich don't have to step out for a meal, while the Chinese are building chips?" Goyal asked, striking a nerve in India's booming startup scene. "Should we just be running shops, or should we aim to lead in innovation?"

The comments sparked mixed reactions across the entrepreneurial community-some felt criticized, while others saw it as a wake-up call. One of the more supportive voices came from boAt co-founder Aman Gupta, who attended the event and offered a different perspective.

"It's not every day the government encourages founders to dream bigger," Aman said in a statement. "I was there, I heard the full speech. Goyal ji isn't against startups-he believes in us. His message was simple: India has come a long way, but to lead the world, we need to think bigger."

Gupta, who's no stranger to startup hustle and ambition thanks to his time on Shark Tank India, compared Goyal's words to advice often given to entrepreneurs. "If you want to build something world-class, you have to know who you're competing with. That applies to countries too."

But not everyone saw it the same way. Aadit Palicha, co-founder of Zepto, pushed back strongly, defending consumer internet startups like his own. "Almost 1.5 lakh people earn their livelihoods from Zepto. If that's not innovation, what is?" he asked in a widely shared LinkedIn post. He also pointed out that global giants like Amazon and Facebook started out in the consumer space before branching into deep tech.

Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai also weighed in, urging the government to uplift rather than undervalue homegrown startups. "We have deep tech ventures too-they're just smaller. But before pointing fingers, maybe the minister should reflect on what support the government has actually provided," Pai said, highlighting long-standing issues like the Angel Tax and regulatory red tape.

Ashneer Grover, former MD at BharatPe, made a pointed observation: "China also began with food delivery before growing into deep tech. Let's focus on building the economy for the next 20 years instead of criticizing job creators today."

Even Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, acknowledged there's plenty of promise in India's deep tech space-but also major gaps. "I've met some incredibly impressive startups working in deep tech, but the capital and ecosystem they need to scale just isn't there yet," he said.

Amid the backlash, Goyal stood firm. He said his comments were being misrepresented-particularly by political opponents. "The startup community has largely taken my message in the right spirit. Only a few Congress social media accounts are trying to twist it into something it's not. India's youth is ready to take on the world," he said.

The Congress, however, accused Goyal of undermining the government's own pro-startup narrative, claiming his comments exposed what they called the "truth" about India's startup challenges and contradicted Prime Minister Modi's upbeat messaging.

What started as a comment at a startup event has quickly snowballed into a wider conversation about the future of India's innovation economy-and what kind of support entrepreneurs really need to compete on a global stage. Whether it's groceries or semiconductors, one thing is clear: the ambition is there. The question is, will the ecosystem rise to match it?