At the CII Unicorn Summit 2026, Kris Gopalakrishnan (co-founder of Infosys) outlined a vision for India's next wave of billion-dollar startups, termed 'Unicorn 2.0'. He urged entrepreneurs to pivot towards deep technology and advanced manufacturing, moving away from the consumer internet and fintech sectors. Gopalakrishnan emphasized that while deep tech ventures are more challenging and have higher failure rates, the potential rewards—economic, strategic, and civilizational—are significant. He pointed to the Indian government's $11 billion (approximately ₹1 lakh crore) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund as a critical component in fostering this transition, predicting it could help create a $30-40 billion R&D ecosystem with private investments. He also highlighted the importance of manufacturing complete supply chains domestically, particularly in critical sectors like AI, semiconductors, and defense, to mitigate vulnerabilities exposed by geopolitical tensions. Gopalakrishnan called for the formation of a dedicated industry association to guide government policy, drawing parallels to the establishment of Nasscom in 1988, which played a pivotal role in shaping India's IT industry.