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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some expat Indians are moving back home to launch companies of their own.</li><li>India's booming market size, internet growth, and post-pandemic spending is driving their decision.</li></ul>Nithin Hassan, 41, has always been fascinated with building something of his own.As a child in India, he would get in trouble for dismantling electronics around the house just so he could peek inside.In college, in true <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startup</a> fashion, he started working on a small business out of his parent's garage in Bengaluru, assembling computers for friends and family.It was the early 2000s and the internet was not the trove of knowledge it is today — Hassan was relying on books to learn. Finding mentorship and the right guidance was a challenge, too.Everyone around Hassan told him that going to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-tips-google-software-engineer-skills-experience-careers-software-tech-2024-3">US for a master's degree</a> was the next big opportunity. So he did.Over the next 16 years, he put his startup plans on hold and worked at some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.<div type="image" title="Nithin Hassan" height="2450" width="3266" msid="113831978" hostid="261" sizebytes="215682"></div>But the pandemic felt like a turning point. And its aftermath made India look like a lab-designed business environment: It had just become the world's most populous country, the pandemic had created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/private-consumption-continues-to-be-supported-by-pent-up-demand-finance-ministry/articleshow/99069973.cms?from=mdr">pent-up demand</a> for consumer products, and growing internet adoption made commerce more scalable, he said.So Hassan left behind about $500,000 in annual pay at Meta to move back to Bengaluru in December 2023 with his wife and two children. He has since launched two startups.Hassan is part of a group of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-moved-back-to-india-after-living-abroad-for-decade-2024-9">expat Indians moving back</a> home to venture out on their own. As such, he's also part of a decades-long trend of reverse migration back to India.The trend began in the 1990s and picked up at the turn of the century, driven by the economic collapse in 2008, said Binod Khadria, the president of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism. Many of those who returned to India for work were largely working for multinational companies.Today, the impetus for the move often looks a bit different: It's driven by factors like unstable visa policies and economic recessions, which lead to uncertainty when it comes to jobs and duration of stay in these destinations.Many returnees find work in tech, but the finance, retail, and climate sectors also absorb a large number of expat Indians, Khadia said. And some of the returnees are heading back to India to start companies of their own.India is undergoing a startup explosion. The country reported over<a target="_blank" href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2043805"> 140,800 recognized startups</a> at the end of June — nearly 50,000 more than last year — and credited them with creating 1.6 million direct jobs.To be sure, not all of these companies will make it big — and some do still stumble, like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inc42.com/features/what-are-the-current-problems-being-faced-by-oyo/">Oyo </a>and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-hsbc-funds-byjus-startup-valuation-zero-edtech-india-raveendran-2024-6">Byju's</a>. But the chaos, where even established startups are trying and failing, makes India a fair playing field for new entrants, Hassan said.Business Insider spoke to six <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-vc-wants-see-5-traits-new-founders-fundraising-antler-2024-8">first-time founders </a>about why they have recently returned to India after spending several years, or even an adult life, abroad.<h2 id="0e4a3c47-ba19-4690-8b52-c6bfece1c81d">Fastest-growing economy</h2>The health of the economy and interest from investors are fueling the entrepreneurship boom.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-billionaire-karan-adani-plans-challenge-china-dominance-seaports-2024-8">India's economic growth</a> in 2023 — 8.2% — was the fastest of all large economies worldwide. That's led to greater purchasing power, which lets companies, including startups, sell more.India's inflation rate of about 3.5% is well below its annual wage growth of 9.6%. This makes inflation less of a challenge than it is for slower-growing peers, where consumer-focused businesses have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economy-jobs-report-sentiment-consumers-elections-recession-inflation-mortgage-rates-2024-9">hurt by high prices</a>.Investors are getting in on the action.From 2015 to 2021, the number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-vc-firm-split-china-india-2023-6">unique investors in India</a> nearly quadrupled, though the number is tracking much lower this year, per PitchBook."Other than a slight downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to global macroeconomic factors, VC funding has been consistently growing in India," said Ben Mathias, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India.Besides funding, domestic developments have encouraged founders and VCs too, Mathias said.The Indian government's Universal Payment Interface system has spurred consumers and businesses to pay online, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/2june2022-digital-payments-in-india-projected-to-reach-10-trillion-by-2026">40% of all digital payments</a> globally happen in India today, the partner said.Programs like Startup India, which provides founders benefits like tax exemption, easier compliance, and funding support, have made creating a company smoother.Devyani Parameshwar worked in the microfinance and fintech space in India in the 2010s before heading to the UK and Africa. She returned to India in 2022 to launch a financial management venture."It's changed dramatically. I remember standing in line at various ministries in Delhi trying to get meetings and then trying to get answers and it wasn't easy in the past," she said of her memories of India.Now, she can use an online platform to ask the country's central bank and banking regulator questions.It's easier than ever for foreign companies to invest in India, which means startups have a clearer exit path through acquisition — something VCs think hard about before entering new markets or writing checks.<h2 id="e5dd7b6f-a09f-4ff2-84c1-5907de96dc5e">Market ripe for the taking</h2>For Rohan Bhide, who spent most of his college and professional life <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-in-big-tech-before-launching-my-own-startup-engineer-2024-9">preparing to launch something of his own</a>, a trip home in 2017 while he was studying in the US was a turning point.Indian telecom giant Reliance had recently launched a cheap unlimited data plan, which spiked Indian internet adoption. India was charting among the countries with the highest online transactions."That really, really drew my attention," said Bhide, who worked at Meta after graduation. "It was my dream come true — a huge market, a huge user base, and at the same time, the ability to adopt technology was incredible."Bhide returned to India in January, leaving behind about $580,000 in total compensation at ticketing platform StubHub. He and a cofounder are working on launching a consumer tech product later this year.<div type="image" title="Rohan Bhide" height="2304" width="3072" msid="113831979" hostid="261" sizebytes="218468"></div>Most Indians grew up wanting to work at a multinational company — but that's changing, Bhide said.Freelancing, running your own business, or working for a startup is much more socially acceptable now, because people see the success of other Indian startups. The country has the third-largest number of "unicorns" — companies worth $1 billion or more — with 64, per PitchBook.<h2 id="7f423804-745b-4e04-a250-839e01663f09">Boom in entrepreneurship culture</h2>A lot has changed since Hassan first wanted to launch his hardware startup in the early 2000s.Tech hot spots like Bengaluru and Gurugram have seen a boom in entrepreneurship culture in the last few years, with meet-ups, networking mixers, and even morning walks with like-minded builders.<div type="image" title="man standing in front of mountains in USA" height="2268" width="3024" msid="113831980" hostid="261" sizebytes="141132"></div>Dhruv Anand, who left Google in the US to move back to India in 2021 to launch an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-most-promising-2024-9">AI startup</a>, said that there were lots of other founders and mentors to help guide him."If you want to figure out who's the right chartered accountant to talk to, who's the right lawyer to help you draft agreements, all of that stuff is very easy," Anand said."It's been a really, really supportive community," Bhide said. There are people "telling you about their entire lives just because they want to help you and they're hoping that you pass the favor onto the next person who moves to India and wants to start their own company."<h2 id="3c8bff36-e855-4530-9b44-bcc7f36b0825">Not everything is perfect</h2>Although these founders made the decision to return to India, that doesn't mean they no longer see the benefits of operating in the US.Ruchit Garg founded an agriculture startup in Silicon Valley in 2016, with a focus on supporting farmers around the globe. In 2019, he returned to India, where his late grandfather worked as a farmer.Garg has been building in India ever since, but he says its startup ecosystem cannot yet compete with the Valley's decades of experience."The overall ecosystem was more mature back in Silicon Valley. It's still one of the best places for entrepreneurs. India isn't there yet, although it's growing pretty drastically," he said.Despite efforts to digitalize key processes, many bureaucratic challenges persist.For most founders, after living in US cities where populations are a fraction of those in Mumbai and Bangalore, congested roads and poorer air quality are also everyday annoyances.But India provides some big perks, including affordable domestic help and the appeal of building solutions for problems they witness firsthand."It's a different joy to be able to build for problems that you feel for very personally," Parameshwar, the fintech founder, said. When she worked in Africa, she needed translators. Now, she can speak with her users herself.Bhide said the general sentiment among local founders is shifting from "Build from India" to "Build for India."For some founders, being surrounded by family and the culture they grew up in was another selling point.Niranjan Vemulkar moved back to India in 2015 and later founded a digital legacy planning platform.He said that he never fully felt at home in the US, where he lived for over a decade."For us, it was the fact that we wanted to raise a family in an environment where the children would have access to the grandparents and Indian culture," Vemulkar said. "The fact that you could come back to India, start something of your own and figure things out in an ecosystem which was potentially booming for startups, was just a cherry on the cake."Are you in India and have a story to share about the tech and entrepreneurship landscape? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

<keyword id="10926" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="reliance" source="Orion">Reliance</keyword> Industries and chip maker <keyword id="113675" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nvidia" source="Orion">Nvidia</keyword> on Friday announced a collaboration to develop <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s own foundation large language model trained on the nation's diverse languages and tailored for generative AI applications to serve the country. Nvidia will provide access to the most advanced Nvidia GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip and Nvidia DGX Cloud, an AI supercomputing service in the cloud. GH200 marks a fundamental shift in computing architecture that provides exceptional performance and massive memory bandwidth. "With the most advanced AI computing infrastructure, Reliance can build its own large language models that power generative AI applications made in India, for the people of India," <keyword id="12503810" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jensen-huang" source="Orion">Jensen Huang</keyword>, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said in a statement. The Nvidia-powered AI infrastructure is the foundation of the new frontier into AI for Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jio" source="Orion">Jio</keyword> Infocomm, Reliance Industries' telecom arm. To serve India's vast potential in AI, Reliance will create AI applications and services for their 450 million Jio customers and provide energy-efficient AI infrastructure to scientists, developers and startups across India. "As India advances from a country of data proliferation to creating technology infrastructure for widespread and accelerated growth, computing and technology super centres like the one we envisage with Nvidia will provide the catalytic growth just like Jio did to our nation's digital march," said <keyword id="3820" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mukesh-ambani" source="Orion">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. Moreover, the company said that the AI infrastructure will be hosted in AI-ready computing data centres that will eventually expand to 2,000 MW. Execution and implementation will be managed by Jio, which has extensive offerings and experience across mobile telephony, 5G spectrum, fibre networks and more. "Together, we will develop a state-of-the-art AI cloud infrastructure that is secure, sustainable and deeply relevant across India, accelerating the nation's journey towards becoming an AI powerhouse," said Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm. The collaboration with Nvidia also aligns with its strategy of serving as a large, comprehensive digital, cloud and networking platform for both consumers and business customers. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/the-iphone-15-will-be-available-in-india-faster-than-its-predecessors-and-it-is-coming-with-a-type-c-port/articleshow/103504729.cms">The iPhone 15 will be available in India faster than its predecessors and it is coming with a Type-C port</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/tim-cooks-one-more-thing-that-changes-the-world-of-tech-every-year/articleshow/103504426.cms">Tim Cook’s ‘One More Thing’ that changes the world of tech every year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/apple-watch-ultra-2-to-launch-on-september-12-expectations-rumours-and-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/103438121.cms">Apple Watch Ultra 2 to launch on September 12 – expectations, rumours and all you need to know</a>

Reliance, Nvidia join hands to advance AI in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A New Zealand startup is using wood to make synthetic graphite for EV batteries.</li><li>CarbonScape uses leftover woodchips from timber making to produce batteries.</li></ul>A New Zealand-based startup is using woodchips to make synthetic graphite that can be used in EV batteries.CarbonScape produces its alternative graphite by heating the waste from timber making, through a process known as pyrolysis, to create biochar, a carbon-rich material. The material is then milled and transformed into a raw form of graphite, which the company says is "a more sustainable option.""Our mission is to decarbonize the battery industry," CarbonScape CEO Ivan Williams told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/china-ev-materials-scaring-us-77c7f710?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1">The Wall Street Journal</a>."That solves some other problems, too, including localizing supply chains," he added.Producing a viable alternative to graphite is increasingly important for Western nations as they seek to reduce their reliance on Chinese-made EV batteries.Currently, China is one of the biggest producers of the LFP — lithium, iron, phosphate — batteries, which many EVs run on, and "up to 90% of the EV-battery supply chain relies on China," <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored" class="link " href="https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/ev-battery-lithium-supply">Morgan Stanley</a> analysts said in a July report.This dominance of the supply chain allows China to make batteries cheaper than its rivals and subsequently offer lower prices.But with tense <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nouriel-roubini-china-economy-us-investment-war-recession-debt-growth-2023-8">Sino-US relations in recent years</a>, Western nations are looking for alternatives to avoid any potential future disruptions to supply chains.But some critics have cast doubt over CarbonScape's idea, saying it requires too many woodchips and isn't as cost-effective as graphite, per The Journal.Nevertheless, the Kiwi startup is gaining international attention as global EV production expands. CarbonScape secured $18 million in funding from European forestry products company Stora Enso earlier this year, opening up new supply lines to Europe, The Journal reported."This investment represents a strong statement of support for sustainable sourcing of battery materials for global decarbonisation," Williams said, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/stora-enso-others-invest-18-mln-bio-graphite-firm-carbonscape-2023-09-19/">Reuters</a>.Hong Kong-based battery maker <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/catl-claims-battery-1-million-miles-2020-6">Amperex Technology</a> has also invested in the company.<div type="image" title="A graphite industrial park in Jixi city, China." height="2688" width="4032" msid="105880799" hostid="261" sizebytes="1041568"></div>Graphite is a critical mineral in the US and the European Union, and officials hope to encourage <a target="_blank" rel="" class="css-1h1us5y-StyledLink el06won0" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-and-eu-advance-buyers-club-for-ev-battery-minerals-5288287e">more local mining production</a>.CarbonScape did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment, which was made outside of normal working hours.

A startup is using woodchips to make synthetic graphite for EV batteries

<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/innovation-leaders"></a><div type="image" title="Tamas Kadar - founder and acting CIO of SEON" height="2536" width="3382" msid="93011506" hostid="261" sizebytes="171526"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="14510314" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="seon" source="Orion">SEON</keyword>, a <keyword id="14510315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fraud-prevention" source="Orion">fraud prevention</keyword> service, is Hungary's most well-funded tech startup ever. </li><li>Founder and CIO Tamas Kadar uses an ethos of self-reliance and strong partnerships to drive innovation.</li></ul>Tamas Kadar is the 28-year-old founder and acting CIO of Anglo-Hungarian SEON, the world's fastest growing fraud prevention business. After recently receiving a $94m series B from IVP, SEON is Hungary's most well-funded tech start-up ever. The business is at an important moment in its growth journey, having secured $94m of Series B funding investment, led by Silicon Valley-based IVP back in April 2022. It's in hyper-scale. "As a business, our current priority is to rapidly scale up operations, while also entering new markets and geographic territories," Kadar said. "To do this, we're actively pursuing talent acquisition and bolstering our company ranks with amazing new team members weekly, supporting further growth for SEON." SEON aims to be the fraud prevention choice for online businesses accepting new customers, a big market segment. "More than anything, our aim is to help eradicate online fraud," he said. "I hate to say it, but in general, right now, fraudsters are winning the war online. Too many businesses are losing out to fraudulent activity, and it's our mission to make sure that ends as soon as possible."SEON's mission is a global one. This year, the company opened an office in Austin, Texas as part of its plans to further develop the brand in the US and triple the size of its US team. "Additionally," Kadar said, "we will look to make further inroads within the APAC region, and of course continue to reaffirm our position in <keyword id="11897120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="europe" source="Orion">Europe</keyword>, with our commercial HQ in London. LATAM expansion will come later in the year."The economic downturn means that fraud is only going to increase. "As such, businesses now need to proactively invest in defense before the problem worsens," Kadar said. "Ultimately, this changing market dynamic has to affect how businesses evaluate online fraud. Moving forward, businesses will be unable to simply absorb company losses as they may have before."Online fraud is a real cat-and-mouse game. "We're continually investing in technologies that allow us to scale across industries and geographic territories," Kadar said. From the beginning, the company's approach to core tech has been to build your own. This, he said, "has allowed our system to be highly flexible. To support this, we've also had to form strong partnerships in the spaces relevant to our <keyword id="11893017" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="technology" source="Orion">technology</keyword>, which have helped us to further expand our capabilities across several markets." This support includes the likes of Revolut, NuBank, and mollie, all at the cutting edge of their respective fields. Kadar is excited about where new tech will take the company and the industry. "In many ways, it feels like we're on the precipice of a new era of technology, which may be dominated by more immersive experiences and decentralised solutions," he said. "As a fan of technology, this prospect really excites me. I think in the next few years we'll start to see big changes in the ways we connect with one another online, whether that be through the <keyword id="11121339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">metaverse</keyword>, or from some of the Web 3.0 solutions coming to the fore." However, he warned, "this industry excitement must be tempered with a recognition that effective fraud prevention protocols will soon be more important than ever."

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Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

Shubhangi Goel,Charissa Cheong

Reliance, Nvidia join hands to advance AI in India

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A startup is using woodchips to make synthetic graphite for EV batteries

Polly Thompson

Founder and CIO of Hungary's most-funded tech startup uses ethos of self-reliance and strong partnerships to drive innovation

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