The U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was launched in 2022 at the direction of President Biden and Prime Minister Modi. It’s a strategic technology partnership that benefits both countries and their partners. Latest update by The White house is available here (January 6th, 2025)

Bharat Tech initiative plans to provide a platform for start-ups affiliated to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to develop synergetic partnerships with US Businesses in the seven iCET focus areas.

  1. Innovation Ecosystems
  2. Civilian and Defense Space Technology
  3. Defense Innovation and Industrial Cooperation
  4. Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing
  5. Semiconductor Supply Chains
  6. Clean Energy and a Critical Minerals Partnership
  7. AI, quantum computing etc.

The Bharat Tech initiative will supplement the academic research and institutional initiatives under the iCET framework.

The four initial pillars of Bharat Tech initiative are:

  1. Technical Collaboration
  2. Product Development
  3. Investments
  4. Marketing/Business Development/Sales

Following are the four roles in the matchmaking platform. Curated matchmaking will take place between the roles.

  1. Company
  2. Advisor and/or individual investor
  3. Venture Investor
  4. Sponsor/Service Provider

Webinars, interviews with IIT alumni in the US, business experts, as well as one-to-one interaction between carefully matched US entrepreneurs and Indian startups are planned.

In person events are planned in the US and India in the second half of 2025.