During his ongoing US trip, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday (November 16) met top Silicon Valley founders and venture capitalists of Indian origin.
“Had an engaging interaction with Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs & Venture Capitalists. Highlighted how India’s young talent, vibrant business ecosystem & growing economy presents the perfect opportunity for investments,” said Goyal on X, formerly Twitter.
During his interaction, Goyal urged the entrepreneurs and investors to help enable India’s young talent pool in areas of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). He also sought ideas to make India an attractive investment destination for VCs across the globe.
During the latter half of the day, he also held meetings with the CEO of semiconductor giant Micron Technology, Sanjay Mehrotra, and YouTube CEO Neil Mohan. The minister discussed the India plans of the two companies and offered ‘support’ for their expansion plans in the country.
In a chat with Mehrotra, Goyal touted the ‘vast opportunities’ presented by the country’s growing semiconductor ecosystem and called on the company to mull collaboration and expansion in India. In a conversation with Mohan, Goyal pitched India’s potential in the burgeoning digital economy fuelled by rising content consumption and diverse demography.
“Delighted to meet Mr.@NealMohan, CEO of YouTube. We discussed how India presents a huge opportunity for @YouTube to further expand collaboration & footprint in the country with its – thriving digital ecosystem, growing content space, and young & diverse demography,” said the Minister in a post.
During the day, Goyal also participated in a roundtable discussion with prominent academicians at Stanford University. He also took part in an interactive session organised by the San Francisco chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
It is pertinent to note that Goyal is currently in San Francisco to attend the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) meeting.
The meeting with Mehrotra comes as work continues to be in full swing for Micron’s maiden semiconductor test and packaging unit in the country (Gujarat). The project is expected to create 5,000 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs in the coming years. The project involves an investment of $825 Mn.
On the other hand, the country continues to be a huge market for YouTube. As more and more data-guzzling Indians join the digital ecosystem, the platform wants to be at the forefront of this revolution and offer differentiated offerings to users. Additionally, the meeting could have also enabled the company to lobby for changes and pitch against any adverse regulation.
Notably, India will likely see the number of internet users zoom to the 900 Mn mark by 2025 and, as per government estimates, the homegrown digital economy will contribute more than 20% to India’s GDP by 2026. As per an Inc42 report, India has already become the world’s largest consumer internet market for tech giants like Meta and Google.
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