India has a long way to go before it can catch up with Silicon Valley’s startups, but there’s one aspect in which it might be ahead of America’s tech hub.
Serial entrepreneur and academic Vivek Wadhwa, known for his provocative statements on technology and innovation, recently made a surprising claim: India’s digital infrastructure surpasses that of Silicon Valley. His anecdote, shared during a discussion at the Bharat Rising Summit, paints a picture of a stark digital divide between the two tech hubs. From Indian beggars accepting QR code payments to ubiquitous, affordable internet access, Wadhwa’s experience in India highlighted a reality far removed from his Silicon Valley life. Wadhwa is an Indian-American technology entrepreneur and academic. He is Distinguished Fellow & Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Engineering at Silicon Valley and Distinguished Fellow at the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.
“I live in Silicon Valley. I’ve been in Menlo Park. I would go hiking across Route 80, and the moment I crossed, go one kilometer there, my internet stops working. There are no Wi-Fi towers. There’s no internet access there. Where I live in Belmont right now, I’ve been dying to get fiber optic. I can get something close to a gigabyte [but] can’t get it,” he said.
“I mean you go around and then you go shopping, and they want credit cards. No digital currency, no digital (payments) or anything. In India, everywhere you go, even beggars are taking QR codes. And that’s literally what happened to me last trip over here. This guy came up to me [and] said he wanted something. I think I said, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have any cash.’ I didn’t have any cash. He says, ‘QR code!'”
“In Silicon Valley, we can’t even dream about anything like that. We have these old-fashioned credit cards. Have to have credit cards with me wherever I go. That’s how primitive we are over there. And here people complain about the quality of their Jio service. It’s slow? My God! It’s lightning fast here! I can’t believe how well (it works). Everywhere I go, there’s internet access and it costs nothing! I mean over there, my T-Mobile plan, if I [use it] too much a month, I [get all these] bills and warnings. It costs a fortune to get a basic cell phone plan. Here, you get it for free, and you’re complaining,” Wadhwa said.
“Get over the inferiority complex. You are much better off than Silicon Valley as far as digital infrastructure goes,” he told the audience.
Wadhwa’s observations, while anecdotal, touch upon a significant shift in the global digital landscape. While Silicon Valley remains the undisputed leader in technological innovation and venture capital, India has made significant strides in building out its digital infrastructure, particularly in mobile payments and internet access since the launch of Jio in 2016. This leapfrogging, driven by the rapid adoption of mobile technology and government initiatives like Digital India, has created a unique digital ecosystem.
This difference highlights the distinct paths taken by the two regions. Silicon Valley’s focus has been on cutting-edge technologies and software, while India has prioritized accessibility and affordability, leading to wider adoption of digital services. While Silicon Valley grapples with the complexities of implementing new technologies like digital currencies, India has embraced mobile payments with remarkable speed and efficiency. This presents a compelling case study for how developing nations can leverage technology to drive economic growth and inclusion. While challenges remain, India’s success in building a robust digital infrastructure offers valuable lessons for the rest of the world.