Piyush Goyal pitches India-Japan ‘Shark Tank’ style startup series to boost investment ties

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday proposed an India-Japan startup pitching series on the lines of the popular ‘Shark Tank’ format, as New Delhi seeks to draw more Japanese capital, technology and business partnerships into India.

Speaking at a startup roundtable during his four-day visit to Japan, Goyal said the proposed platform could use digital connectivity to bring young Indian and Japanese companies together with investors and potential partners.

“India and Japan can develop a pitching series, something like the Shark Tank initiative, that can help young startups pitch,” Goyal said, according to PTI.

Indian startups could pitch their ideas to Japanese investors, while Japanese startups could use the platform to find partners and business opportunities in India. “In this world of global connectivity through Zoom calls and the internet, I think we can have more and more pitching sessions where Indian startups pitch for Japanese investments and Japanese startups pitch for partners in India,” he said.

Goyal said the aim should be to turn startup introductions into actual commercial relationships. “Together we build more business connects, and move from pitches to pilots, to investment, and to scale,” he said.

Goyal pitches India as a trusted partner

The startup proposal is part of a broader push by Goyal to position India as a long-term investment and manufacturing partner for Japanese companies.

Earlier this week, while addressing Japanese business leaders in Tokyo, Goyal sought to differentiate India from China as a destination for companies looking for a stable environment for entrepreneurship and investment.

“Entrepreneurship is celebrated in India. You don’t have to worry that if you make money in India, if you are a successful businessman, you may disappear one day, and end up coming out as a professor in a Japanese University. That risk doesn’t happen in India,” he said.

Goyal did not name Alibaba founder Jack Ma or China, but the reference appeared to allude to Ma’s experience. Ma largely disappeared from public view after criticising Chinese financial regulators in 2020 and later resurfaced as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo in 2023.

Goyal also told Japanese businesses that India protects intellectual property and data. “Your data will never be stolen. You can trust that your intellectual property will never be compromised. IPR is respected in India. Entrepreneurship is celebrated in India,” he said.

He has also sought to position India as more than a “plus one” manufacturing destination for companies looking to reduce their dependence on China. “India is not a plus one country,” Goyal said.

India and Japan seek deeper investment ties

Goyal is leading a delegation of more than 200 Indian business leaders during his Japan visit, with discussions covering manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy, steel, automobiles, financial services, healthcare and startups.

Japan is already among the largest sources of foreign direct investment into India. Between April 2000 and March 2026, Japanese companies invested $48.14 billion in India, according to figures cited during the visit.

Japan has also set an investment target of 10 trillion yen in India over the next decade, underlining the scale of the opportunity New Delhi is seeking to build on.

Goyal has argued that India’s scale can complement Japan’s technology and industrial strengths.

“One can clearly see that for an economy like Japan, which has very good technologies but not enough people, which has excellent business practices but not enough market, India can be an excellent partner which provides economies of scale with a large domestic market,” he said.

He has also described India as a “trusted partner in global supply chains”, arguing that deeper cooperation with India could give Japanese companies a competitive advantage in global markets. “For Japan to enjoy competitive advantage over other countries, working with India, will give it a natural edge,” Goyal said.

Push for Japanese capital in deeptech

Against this backdrop, Goyal proposed a Japan-India deeptech capital corridor to channel more long-term funding into Indian startups.

“I suggest the Japan-India deeptech capital corridor, where larger pools of patient capital, not only for mature unicorns but particularly early-stage funding, can help catalyse these startups’ ideas and innovations into success stories,” he said.

The proposal is aimed at connecting Japan’s long-term capital and precision-engineering capabilities with India’s startup base and ability to take products from design to large-scale deployment.

Goyal said India offers companies not only a market in which to test products but also one in which they can sell and deploy them at scale. He also called for stronger links between universities, incubators and venture funds in the two countries to create a deeper pipeline for innovation and investment.