India isn’t ready to pull off a DeepSeek-level coup, and Ashneer Grover is blunt about why. The former BharatPe co-founder says the gap between India and China isn’t just about startups or funding — it’s about decades of sustained economic growth.
“They are playing at a different level, we are playing at a different level,” Grover told NewsX in an interview, emphasizing how China has strategically positioned itself in deep tech.
“China is an economy which has made itself a developed economy by achieving a growth rate of 10% for 20 years. Now, they are playing the games of a developed economy.”
India, he argues, hasn’t even seen a single year of 10% growth, let alone two decades of it. “Till date, I have not seen a growth rate of 10% in a year. How will it compete with an economy that has achieved a growth rate of 10% in the last 20 years?”
According to Grover, DeepSeek's success isn’t just about ambition or innovation—it requires a strong economic foundation. China, having built that foundation, now competes with the U.S. at the frontier of technology.
“They are competing with the likes of the US… We have not reached there, we have not developed at all,” he said.
For India to close the gap, Grover suggests a clear roadmap: “Deliver a growth rate of 10%, deliver it for one year, and if you do it for the next 20 years, then maybe you will be in a position to win.” Until then, he makes it clear—there’s no real comparison.
“China is miles ahead,” Grover said.