US-India Strategic Partnership ForumUS-India Strategic Partnership Forum
India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. Under Prime Minister Modi, startups in India have finally received overwhelming recognition and support. India has seen at least a dozen start-ups achieve unicorn status, including Flipkart, which was bought by Walmart for $16 billion in 2018.
USISPF is committed to bridging the gap between the U.S. and India by focusing on cross border startups with the creation of Startup Connect. The program is being designed by startups, for startups with the goal to increase job creation in the United States and India.
By 2025, India will have the world’s largest population, generating one of the greatest B2C opportunities in the world. The U.S. is the preeminent technology capital of the world. U.S. businesses have been the biggest investors in India since liberalization began in 1991. Conversely, the U.S. has been the top investment destination for Indian companies. The two countries saw bilateral trade jump to $160 billion in 2019 from $142.8 billion in 2018.
Startup Connect will be chaired by Umesh Sachdev, CEO of Uniphore, and co-chaired by Vinod Muthukrishnan (CEO, CloudCherry and now Chief Evangelist at Cisco). In its initial phase, the initiative will focus on the current wave of B2B startups emerging from India and operating in the U.S. India Strategic corridor to drive economic value. In the future, it will expand its focus to include U.S. startups looking to expand in India.
USISPF Chairman and former executive chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, John Chambers, talks about the benefits and the importance of the Startup Connect Program
Umesh Sachdev, Co-founder, and CEO of Uniphore, is a modern-day entrepreneur with a passion for technologies that have massive societal impact. Umesh co-founded Uniphore to bridge the communication gap between man and machine using voice and speech. Umesh was globally recognized in 2016 as one of the ten ‘Next Generation Leaders’ by Time Magazine. He is also the Chair of the Startup Connect Program.
Vinod Muthukrishnan is the current Chief Growth Officer (CCBU) at Cisco. He was the founder and CEO of CloudCherry (now a Cisco company). He is also the co-chair of the USISPF Startup Connect Program.
Anil Advani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Inventus Law. Inventus Law is a global technology law firm that represents high growth startup companies, founders, angel investors, incubators, accelerators, venture capital and private equity investors based in Silicon Valley. They represent startup corporations from inception through the lifecycle of the venture, negotiating angel and venture financings, customer and licensing transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.
Nishant Rao is the Founding Partner of Avataar Venture Partners and the ex-COO of Freshdesk & the Managing Director of LinkedIn India. He brings expertise in B2B technology & SaaS sales and marketing with a repeat track record of delivering value & globally scaling successful companies in consumer internet & enterprise software.
Girish Mathrubootham is the founder and CEO of Freshworks. Freshworks provides organizations of all sizes with SaaS customer engagement solutions that make it easy for support, sales and marketing professionals to communicate effectively with customers for better service and collaborate with team members to resolve customer issues.
Varsha Tagare is a Managing Director at Qualcomm Ventures and an advocate for diversity in the technology sector. She oversees a $150M fund dedicated to India and cross border Digital Enterprise investments.
Krishna Depura is the CEO and co-founder of MindTickle. MindTickle provides a comprehensive, data-driven solution for sales readiness and enablement that fuels revenue growth and brand affinity.