Founders react to Piyush Goyal's critique of India's startups: Who said what?

Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks on India’s startup ecosystem at Startup Mahakumbh 2025 sparked reactions from several founders and investors.

“We are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without leaving home,” the minister said at the event.

He went on to ask pointed questions like, “Should we aspire to be delivery boys and girls?” and “Do we only want to make ice cream or chips? Are we content just running shops?”

Goyal’s comments, seen as a call for deeper innovation in areas like semiconductors rather than consumer-facing sectors like food delivery or boutique D2C brands, drew mixed responses from industry leaders and the public. Some backed his viewpoint, while others pushed back.

Also Read: Semiconductor founder hits back at Piyush Goyal’s ‘ice cream or chips’ remark

Here’s a look at some of the responses:

In support

Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola: “ Fully agree with Minister @PiyushGoyal statement. Our startup community needs to introspect as to why we’re just building consumer tech companies. Entrepreneurs need to reflect and instead of building lifestyle apps, build innovation and future tech.”

Aman Gupta, cofounder of Boat: “It's not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger. But at Startup Mahakumbh, that's exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Hon. Minister @PiyushGoyal Ji isn't against founders. He believes in us. His point was simple: India has come far, but to lead the world...we need to aim higher.”

Harsha Goenka, chairman of RPG Group: “When Murthy and Subrahmanyan spoke of 70-90 hour work weeks and Piyush Goyal questioned startups making vegan ice creams and chasing 10-minute deliveries, they weren’t being literal—they were being directional.” He added, “This isn’t about glorifying burnout. It’s about shifting the national mindset—from ease to effort, from quick wins to long-term value.”

Opposing views

Aadit Palicha, CEO of Zepto: “Almost 1.5 Lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today - a company that did not exist 3.5 years ago. Rs 1,000+ Crores of tax contribution to the government per year.”

“If that isn't a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don't know what is,” he added.

Also Read: Zepto's Aadit Palicha, Mohandas Pai react to Piyush Goyal's comments on Indian startups

Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys: “China invested $845 billion from 2014–2024; India only $160 billion! Why is Minister @PiyushGoyal @AshwiniVaishnaw not helping solve these issues?”

“...why are the organisers pushing Chinese propaganda against India? We have more than 4,500 deep-tech startups, according to Traxn,” he asked. “They are small due to a lack of capital because funding is limited. We need support, not this.”

Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com: “I have met a few deep-tech cos that have absolutely blown me away. From AI & space-tech to material science, Indian entrepreneurs are ready to take on the world. But capital & the ecosystem for growth & commercialization are severely lacking. Founders can do most things but not EVERYTHING.”

Vaibhav Domkundwar, CEO at VC firm Better Capital: "Those who haven’t built startups are unlikely to understand what it takes, how it works and more —- no point responding to “why is there no Google from India” — infact anyone who asks such questions misses the know how of risk capital that’s needed first for innovation over decades before you can dream of a Google."