This is an exciting and visionary initiative. However, to succeed, India must avoid the pitfalls of the US research system, which, despite vast investments in basic research, is often disconnected from real-world applications. The US spends over $130 bn annually on academic research. Yet, much of it remains locked in the ‘Valley of Death’, where promising research never transitions into marketable solutions. As former dean of engineering at Duke University, Tom Katsouleas had told me, based on his work with the US National Academy of Engineering, ‘Only about 1% of university patents are ever commercialised.’
The American research ecosystem is heavily focused on ‘publish or perish’ – a culture where academic researchers are incentivised to produce numerous publications to secure tenure and funding. This has created a glut of research papers, many of which lack practical value or impact. Most of this research is disconnected from industry and real-world problems, advancing academic careers, but offering little societal benefit. While programmes like Darpa (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) have had some notable successes, such as the internet, the majority of US basic research remains trapped in academic journals.
India cannot afford to replicate these inefficiencies. Instead, it must leverage its ability to blend basic research with practical applications – ensuring that innovations align with market and societal needs from the start – something it has already demonstrated it can do successfully as it did with its $254 bn IT industry. Companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro didn’t invent microchips or operating systems. But they built global empires by applying and integrating these technologies to solve real-world problems. This model – leveraging what already exists – is efficient, profitable and scalable.
One of the best examples of successful industry-academic collaboration in the world is at IIT Madras, led by V Kamakoti, with Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam and Jayaraj Joseph leading the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC). Instead of wasting time and money chasing scientific rainbows or reinventing the wheel, they partner with industry to adapt and apply cutting-edge technologies, producing affordable, scalable healthcare solutions tailored to India’s needs.
HTIC has already developed transformative healthcare technologies, such as mobile surgical units that deliver cataract surgeries to rural areas, and diagnostic devices that enable early detection of eye diseases. The Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, recently showcased by Nvidia, is pushing the boundaries of neuro-imaging and AI diagnostics, processing entire human brains into hi-res images at a scale that surpasses even the most advanced labs in the West. In addition to advancing brain health, it will provide new insights into how the brain functions, potentially leading to breakthroughs in cognitive science, machine-learning, and even the development of brain-computer interfaces.When I visited IIT Madras earlier this year, I was blown away by the talent, world-class facilities, and their ability to connect with top scientists across India. I was so impressed that I decided to outsource the development of breakthrough technologies for my company, Vionix Biosciences, to them. Frankly, I told my friends and VCs in Silicon Valley where I live, that IIT Madras puts MIT, Duke, Stanford – and the Valley itself – to shame in terms of intellectual capacity, scale, ambition and readiness to collaborate.I’ve been more than amazed by the progress IIT Madras has already made in building technologies that could never be built in the West. The last company that tried to develop what we’re doing was Theranos, which burned through $1.4 bn on medical diagnostics that are nowhere near the advanced solutions IIT has already created – at a tiny fraction of the cost.
The World Bank, IMF and Western academics constantly preach to India that it must increase its investment in basic research. They point to India’s R&D expenditure, currently just 0.7% of GDP, in stark contrast with countries such as the US and China, whose R&D investments respectively exceed 2% and 3% of GDP. Yes, India must do more research. But it must focus on the future rather than the past – as Westerners advocate and do themselves.
We are living in an era of exponential technologies – AI, robotics, sensors, synthetic biology, nanotech – that are converging to create trillion-dollar industries at an unprecedented pace. The foundational research required for these advancements has already been done. India’s real challenge and opportunity lie in identifying the convergence of these technologies and driving innovation through practical applications. Vionix’s partnership with IIT Madras – leveraging advanced AI, sensors and plasma technology to revolutionise medical diagnostics – demonstrates what can be achieved when India plays to its strengths.
Academics are usually trapped in silos and too focused on narrow, specialised fields. Silicon Valley is equally guilty – isolated in its bubble, throwing billions at redundant, incremental technologies with little real-world impact. If India focuses its research investments on convergence and implementation, it won’t just follow existing paths, it will also set the global standard for the next wave of innovation.