How Indian startups can build patented products that compete globally

By Kulpreet S. Sahni, Founder and CEO, CHILTIER: Industrialization and rapid economic growth in the West were propelled by invention, and more importantly, by the protection of invention.

From the steam engine to mechanized weaving, from electricity to semiconductors, patents shaped power. Nations that owned intellectual property dictated supply chains, controlled markets, and accumulated long-term wealth.

India, for decades, took a different path. Our strength lay in applied knowledge, such as adapting, optimizing and implementing ideas that were often developed elsewhere.

While this approach built strong engineering capabilities and enabled impressive cost efficiencies, it also kept us dependent on external design and technology ownership. Now are we entering an era of original, patentable research.

A remarkable example of this shift is India’s space program. With some of the world’s lowest mission costs, ISRO has repeatedly demonstrated that frugal innovation does not mean compromised excellence.

Instead, it reflects superior design thinking, indigenous problem-solving, and an ability to create more with less. This very mindset must now extend beyond space into every sector where India seeks global leadership.

A lesson from history: When India lost its IP

During the British Empire, India was one of the world’s largest producers of cotton textiles. Indian fabrics were global exports, prized for both quality and craftsmanship. The British systematically dismantled this indigenous industry.

Raw cotton was shipped to Britain, where mechanised manufacturing were protected by patents such as those related to the cotton gin and spinning technologies.

This allowed the UK to emerge as a dominant exporter of finished goods. India, once a net supplier of textiles, was reduced to a raw material provider and a buyer of finished products.

China’s deliberate focus on owning battery IP, rare-earth processing, and electric vehicle manufacturing mirrors what the British once achieved in textiles. By controlling patents across the EV value chain,

China has positioned itself not just as a manufacturer, but as a technology gatekeeper in one of the most critical industries of the future. This is the reality India must learn from, scaling without ownership does not translate to power.

India’s patent momentum is rising fast

According to a report, since 2008, Indian deep-tech startups have filed more than 900 patents. A survey of more than 360 Indian deep tech startups revealed 580 patents were filed in AI, 130 in IoT and 120 in neurotechnology.

Within AI alone, patented innovations are emerging in advanced image processing, natural language processing and predictive modelling, while new frontiers like generative AI, cognitive computing, and medical data processing are also accelerating.

In the last fiscal year alone, India recorded 83,000 patent filings, its highest in two decades, growing at 24.6% annually.

Patent grants have more than doubled between FY19 and FY23, with over 1 lakh patents granted between March 2023 and March 2024. This rise in IP creation mirrors the explosion of India’s startup ecosystem, where innovation has become decentralized, democratized, and deeply aspirational.

Why IP will decide India’s global competitiveness

Venture capital is already signaling what the next era of winners will look like. Investors worldwide are moving away from startups built on incremental features and toward those building foundational technologies, backed by strong IP portfolios.

Deep-tech companies with patents, even early-stage startups, are receiving attention because patents de-risk investment, expand valuation potential, and make global scaling more feasible.

But more importantly, IP is becoming central to India’s macroeconomic ambitions. India is undergoing a structural shift from being a consumer of global innovation to a producer of breakthrough technologies in renewable energy, advanced materials, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, robotics, electric mobility, semiconductors, smart wearables, and more. 

The next hardware revolution will be shaped less by consumer gadgets and more by climate technology, sustainable electronics, agri-automation, med-tech and industrial AI systems. It is time for Indian startups to participate in this shift and become global leaders by building patented products.

Smart wearables: A case study in patented Indian innovation

Smart wearables represent one of the most exciting deep-tech opportunities for India. The category sits at the intersection of hardware engineering, embedded software, sensors, materials science, AI models, and health data systems.

Indian inventors are already filing patents in sensor calibration, low-power electronics, advanced signal processing, lightweight battery systems, biometric accuracy improvements, and wearable engineering.

As health-monitoring devices, sport-tech tools, industrial wearables and remote-diagnostic devices become mainstream globally, India can position itself as a leading design-to-manufacturing hub.

Smart wearables are a powerful reminder that patents are not optional add-ons; they are strategic assets that shape pricing power, defensibility, and global credibility.

The moment is now

India’s demographic strength, engineering scale, innovation energy, and policy tailwinds have converged at exactly the right moment. The world is entering a decade of climate tech, AI-native systems, industrial automation, advanced health technologies, and novel materials, areas where India already has strong talent and emerging IP momentum.

Suppose Indian startups combine this talent with disciplined patent culture, a global product mindset, and serious R&D investment. They can build world-class technologies that are not just Made in India but Owned by India.

Read business articles related to Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Management, Education, and Industry at SugerMint.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn