Why the Next Silicon Valley Might Be Indian
Why the Next Silicon Valley Might Be Indian
Celesta Partner Anita Rehman recently spoke at YUGM 2025, joining a powerful lineup of leaders to explore what it will take to shape India’s deep tech future. With Prime Minister Modi and senior cabinet members in attendance, the event underscored India’s rising momentum as a global innovation force—not the next Silicon Valley, but something entirely its own. Here is her takeaway on the event.
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Celesta Partner Anita Rehman recently spoke at YUGM 2025, joining a powerful lineup of leaders to explore what it will take to shape India’s deep tech future. With Prime Minister Modi and senior cabinet members in attendance, the event underscored India’s rising momentum as a global innovation force—not the next Silicon Valley, but something entirely its own. Here is her takeaway on the event.
I had the privilege of participating in the YUGM Innovation Conclave 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi — an event that wasn’t just another conference, but a statement of India's commitment to emerging as a deep tech nation.
With Prime Minister Modi in attendance – alongside Union Ministers Jitendra Singh, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jayant Chaudhary, and Sukanta Majumdar, and the Directors of India’s top IITs and national research institutions – the message was clear: India is no longer waiting.
India has always had talent. What’s different now is that talent parity is accelerating. We’re no longer sending our best minds abroad to build the future — they’re building it here in India. And increasingly, they’re leading the world.
The next Silicon Valley doesn’t have to be in California. It could be in Bengaluru. Pune. Hyderabad. Built in India. By India. For the world.
Consider the Global Capability Centers (GCCs) that now dominate India’s innovation landscape. These are no longer backend support units. Today, they’re global innovation centers — designing AI chips, architecting biotech platforms, and advancing climate tech.
The center of gravity has shifted. One of the co-heads of Google’s Gemini AI, one of the most advanced models in the world, sits in Silicon Valley. The other? In Bangalore.
At Celesta Capital, we’re not just watching this unfold — we’re backing it with an expanding India deep tech portfolio. Our first India-based bioconvergence investment, 1Cell.Ai, is aiming to redefine oncology. Their OncoIncytes platform integrates ctDNA, circulating tumor cells, transcriptomics, and proteomics to deliver radically precise AI-powered cancer diagnostics. This is not incremental. This is a transformational leap and the blueprint for a multi-billion-dollar deep tech company born in India.
At YUGM, bold vision met real action:
- ₹1,400 crore in R&D investments were announced to build new innovation hubs at the IITs, IISc, and national consortia.
- 39 MoUs were signed to cement collaboration across academia, industry, and government.
- Prime Minister Modi’s call to action was crystal clear: India must accelerate from “idea to innovation to impact.”
This isn’t about catching up – India is ready to leapfrog. We’ll build the next NVIDIA, the next Illumina — on Indian soil, with Indian talent, for the global market.
Because the next Silicon Valley doesn’t have to be in California. It could be in Bengaluru. Pune. Hyderabad. Built in India. By India. For the world.
