In an interview with TimesTech, AmitKumar Shrivastava, Head of Business Incubation & Global Fujitsu Distinguished Engineer (AI), Fujitsu Research of India, discusses how deeper collaboration between startups, academia, industry, and global technology companies can accelerate innovation in India. He shares insights on co-creation, technology licensing, enterprise readiness, and the growing importance of structured partnerships in transforming research-led technologies into scalable real-world solutions.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: You have been exploring new ways to connect global technology capabilities with India’s rapidly evolving innovation ecosystem. What opportunities do you see emerging from deeper collaboration between industry, startups, and other ecosystem stakeholders?
AmitKumar: India’s innovation landscape is at a very important stage. The next big opportunity is not simply more innovation, but stronger collaboration between industry, startups, academia, government bodies, incubators, and research institutions so that ideas can move faster into real-world deployment.
Each part of the ecosystem brings distinct strengths. Startups bring agility, creativity, and sharp problem focus. Industry brings scale, enterprise context, customer access, and execution capability. Academia contributes technical depth and long-term thinking, while government and ecosystem institutions help create enabling platforms and connections. When these strengths come together, innovation becomes more scalable, more relevant, and more impactful. For example, when enterprise problem statements, startup agility, and research IP are connected early through pilots or co-creation, deployment can move much faster than in traditional models.
At Fujitsu, we see India not just as a market for innovation, but as one of the most important ecosystems for co-creation, where global technology, local entrepreneurship, and real-world problem solving can come together at scale. That is one of the reasons we have started a Business Incubation Division as a part of Technology Strategy in Fujitsu Research of India, which I am leading. We see this as an opportunity to build focused partnerships early, explore different collaboration pathways, and contribute in a more structured and purposeful way.
TimesTech: India’s startup and innovation ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, supported by initiatives from government, academia, and industry. How can global technology companies contribute meaningfully to this ecosystem?
AmitKumar: Global technology companies can contribute most meaningfully when they engage as active, long-term partners in the innovation journey.
One important contribution is access to advanced technologies, research expertise, and technical capabilities that can help startups solve real problems faster. Another is support for co-development and validation, so that promising solutions can become more enterprise-ready in areas such as scalability, integration, security, and deployment.
Global companies can also play an important role as connectors by working with incubators, universities, research institutions, industry bodies, and government-linked platforms. This becomes especially important in deeptech and emerging technology domains, where innovation often needs multiple stakeholders to move from concept to adoption.
At Fujitsu, we believe meaningful contribution comes through technology collaboration, practical partnership models, and a clear focus on commercialization. In India, through our Business Incubation initiative, we are keen to work with startups, academia, government stakeholders, and ecosystem partners to explore how advanced technologies can be connected with real market opportunities.
TimesTech: One area you have been focusing on is enabling external partners to leverage advanced technologies and intellectual property developed within your organizations. How can such collaboration models help accelerate innovation and real-world deployment of emerging technologies?
AmitKumar: This is a very important area, particularly in deeptech and research-led innovation. Many advanced technologies and intellectual property assets can create far greater impact when they are connected with external innovators who can apply them to real customer and market needs.
At Fujitsu, one important collaboration model we see with startups is technology licensing, where advanced research technologies can be made available to external partners to help them solve customer problems and strengthen their business opportunities. This allows startups to build on proven technology foundations instead of developing everything independently from the ground up.
At the same time, Fujitsu is open to multiple collaboration models depending on the opportunity. These can include joint development, co-creation, pilot-led validation, integration partnerships, and other business structures that create value for both sides.
What makes these models powerful is the combination of complementary strengths. Fujitsu can bring advanced technology, research depth, and global perspective, while startups and ecosystem partners bring speed, market focus, and solution agility. Together, this can significantly shorten the journey from innovation to real-world deployment.
TimesTech: For startups and innovation partners, what value can collaboration with a global technology company bring-particularly in areas such as technology access, joint development, and reaching enterprise or global markets?
AmitKumar: For startups and innovation partners, collaboration with a global technology company can create value at several levels.
First, it can provide access to advanced technologies and research capabilities that help strengthen product differentiation and accelerate innovation. Second, it can create joint development opportunities that help make solutions more enterprise-ready in areas such as integration, scalability, and deployment.
Third, such collaboration can help startups better understand enterprise expectations and market requirements. In many cases, the challenge is not only building a strong solution, but validating it in practical business environments and aligning it with real customer needs. At the same time, large companies also learn from startups, especially in speed, product thinking, and responsiveness to emerging market needs.
At Fujitsu, we also recognize that startups may benefit from our global presence and international network, which could support broader market access and expansion opportunities where there is strategic alignment. In selected cases, there may also be investment opportunities, as Fujitsu has a Corporate Venture Capital function that evaluates startup opportunities based on strategic fit, maturity, and long-term potential.
Overall, the value lies in combining startup agility and innovation with Fujitsu’s technology depth, enterprise perspective, and global reach.
TimesTech: Looking ahead, what types of startups, ecosystem partners, or institutions would you like to collaborate with in India, and how can interested innovators engage with you on such opportunities?
AmitKumar: At Fujitsu we are keen to collaborate with startups, institutions, and ecosystem partners in India who are solving meaningful problems and are open to building strong, outcome-oriented partnerships.
From a startup perspective, we are particularly interested in engaging with ventures beyond the idea stage. Preferably, they should have a working product or solution, along with some level of customer validation, whether through existing customers or near-term opportunities, but of course we are flexible. We are looking for startups that can engage in a structured way around technology, business alignment, and market relevance.
From a broader ecosystem perspective, we are equally keen to work with incubators, accelerators, universities, research institutions, government bodies, industry associations, and innovation platforms that are committed to strengthening India’s innovation landscape.
Fujitsu is open to multiple collaboration models. One important model is technology licensing, but we are also open to co-creation, joint development, and other partnership approaches. We also conduct Tech Open House sessions at our Bangalore office, offering startups and ecosystem partners an opportunity to interact with Fujitsu leadership and experience selected Fujitsu technologies.
As I lead Fujitsu’s new Business Incubation initiative in India, I am genuinely excited to engage with the right partners early and shape strong collaborations from the outset. The best starting point is usually a clear problem statement, a strong solution perspective, and openness to structured collaboration.
