Impossible to survive without the tech startups: Cyient Founder BVR Mohan Reddy

HYDERABAD, September 11: Internal innovation and legacy operating models are no longer sufficient for large technology enterprises to stay competitive in a rapidly changing global market, Cyient Founder Chairman BVR Mohan Reddy said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Hyderabad pre-launch event for the Bengaluru Tech Summit, Reddy stressed that established tech conglomerates must actively partner with young entrepreneurs to maintain agility and meet evolving client needs.

“It is impossible to survive for even the larger organizations without the tech startups,” Reddy said, urging senior IT leaders to view early-stage ventures as vital partners in driving deep-tech capability.

Addressing industry leaders, government representatives, and delegates, Reddy pointed out a demographic shift across the tech landscape. Innovation is increasingly spearheaded by a younger generation of engineers and technologists under 40 who prefer building their own ventures over pursuing traditional enterprise careers.

Rather than developing all capabilities in-house or relying solely on internal R&D, legacy IT firms are adopting open-innovation strategies. By combining enterprise capital, global client networks, and regulatory reach with the speed and specialized technical skills of startups, large firms can accelerate product development in areas such as artificial intelligence, fabless semiconductors, and precision engineering.

Reddy also highlighted the evolution of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and engineering service firms across major hubs like Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Indian tech operations are moving away from back-office support and basic IT execution toward leading core engineering design and product development for international markets.

Drawing on Cyient’s experience operating across Telangana and Karnataka, including precision manufacturing facilities in Mysore and tech design labs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, Reddy noted that regional tech hubs complement one another in scaling India’s engineering footprint worldwide. He cited Cyient’s acquisition of a European fabless semiconductor business, which took four years to replicate in Bengaluru due to the concentration of specialized hardware design talent.

Collaborative platforms and cross-state summits, Reddy added, provide the necessary infrastructure for large enterprises and emerging startups to co-create solutions and strengthen India’s position as a global technology supplier.