Sanjay Anandaram of JumpStartUp Fund writes about how the current Silicon Valley startup ecosystem is likely to be disrupted:
Markets outside the United States could provide invaluable product and design inputs rather than the other way, as has been the traditional case. For example, SMS messaging on mobile handsets, long a communication method in Europe and Asia, is picking up in the United States. Interesting product variations from overseas markets could get launched in the United States (for example, Nokia’s cell phone with a built-in flashlight for the India market). In other areas, viz. fuel cells and healthcare (intra-ocular lenses, hearing aids, prosthetics) and the need for low-cost, long-lasting solutions in markets like China and India could change the economics of offerings of similar products in the United States.
India is the world’s youngest country, with over 150 million people in the age group 18 to 25. A significant number in this group is influenced the same way as their peer groups in the United States: this opens up huge market opportunities for a two-way exchange. There are interesting possibilities at the intersections of pharma and IT (drug discovery, clinical trials, and the like) as well.
All consumer electronics products and mobile handsets are now manufactured in Asia. The two biggest markets in China and India are waiting to happen. The next frontier is convergence of communications and computing in the home. China and India are the fastest-growing wireless markets. Isn’t there a huge opportunity for creating appropriate convergence solutions for these markets?
The “Golden Triangle” of Silicon Valley, India, and Greater China will be the engine of growth for the world’s technology business. Silicon Valley is in no danger of losing its position as the epicenter of global innovation, but it will increasingly be connected to China and India via an intricate mesh of capital, talent, and markets. Many VCs, entrepreneurs, and others in the business of folding future scenarios into current business plans are already well on their way to leveraging the Golden Triangle.
