R&D must move beyond in-house investments to external partners : Kris

SENSEX 73,709.69

 -143.21

NIFTY 22,811.35

 -77.60

CRUDEOIL 9,293.00

 -18.00

GOLD 146,024.00

 -495.00

SILVER 209,210.00

 -2,275.00

SENSEX 73,709.69

 -143.21

NIFTY 22,811.35

 -77.60

NIFTY 22,811.35

 -77.60

CRUDEOIL 9,293.00

 -18.00

CRUDEOIL 9,293.00

 -18.00

GOLD 146,024.00

 -495.00

'; } document.getElementById("lgdv").innerHTML = htmlElements; } function numberformat(i) { return Number(parseFloat(i).toFixed(2)).toLocaleString('en', { minimumFractionDigits: 2 }) } async function gatherResponse(response) { const { headers } = response; const contentType = headers.get('content-type') || ''; if (contentType.includes('application/json')) { return await response.json() } return response.text(); } function getWidth() { if (Math.max(document.body.scrollWidth,document.documentElement.scrollWidth,document.body.offsetWidth,document.documentElement.offsetWidth,document.documentElement.clientWidth) > 991) { document.getElementById("mob").style.display = "none"; document.getElementById("lgdv").style.display = "block"; } else { document.getElementById("mob").style.display = "block"; document.getElementById("lgdv").style.display = "none"; } } getWidth(); THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS.THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS.

The event recognised outstanding startups in domains like biotech, semiconductors, mobility and agriculture

By BL Chennai Bureau

Updated - October 21, 2026 at 08:33 PM.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman , CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups, speaking at the 7th edition of the CII Startupreneur Awards 2026, in Chennai. | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

Indian companies must also evaluate how much of R&D spend is being done outside in the partner organisations and not just measure the percentage of revenue that goes into R&D, Kris Gopalakrishnan – Chairman, CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups and Co-founder of Infosys, said here on Wednesday.

Companies should also not shy away from M&A opportunities to fold in innovations into businesses while giving fair valuations and exit options to founders, he added.

Gopalakrishnan was speaking at the seventh edition of the CII Startupreneur Awards 2026 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Wednesday. The event recognised outstanding start-ups in domains such as biotech, semiconductors, mobility and agriculture. 

Indian companies have a tendency of trying to build innovation internally, and external organisations bring different perspectives and often come with a cost advantage, especially in terms of academic institutions, he said.

“If you work with an academic institution, you get manpower at the cheapest possible cost. If you look at a student studying in engineering and give them ₹5,000 or ₹10,000 , he or she will be very happy. The same student, the minute he or she gets a degree, wants ₹5 lakhs-10 lakhs. This is one of the main reasons why you try and measure how much of your R&D is done outside the organization because cost typically goes down,” he explained. 

“If you look at the US economy today, almost 40-50 per cent of the market gap of the exchange is actually companies which were started less than five years back. That is the acceleration you get from innovation,” he added. 

Ravichandran Purushothaman – Chairman, CII Southern Region emphasised on the importance of scaling and upgrading MSMEs in India’s economic growth and urged Indian corporates to provide support to help these businesses innovate, stay competitive and succeed globally.

Published on October 21, 2026

THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS. THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS. THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS. THIS AD SUPPORTS OUR JOURNALISM. SUBSCRIBE FOR MINIMAL ADS.Sign into Unlock benefits!

• Access 10 free stories per month
• Get notified by email for early preview to new features, discounts & offers