Around 99% Indian B2B SaaS firms embrace deeptech innovation: Report

Around 99% of Indian B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies have embraced deeptech innovations to address their clients' needs and challenges, according to a study published on Tuesday by global consulting firm EY India and Indian IT apex body Nasscom.  
 
The report titled, "Breaking ground: unravelling the Deeptech potential in Indian B2B SaaS” that is based on an analysis of over 200 leading companies, also said that one out of four (25%) of these companies were inventive deeptech focused, with over 1,400 patents filed between them over the past half-decade, as against only 574 patent filings over the preceding decade.  
 
The report defines Inventive deeptech as a mix of creative thinking and advanced technical acumen by firms that have leveraged technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance customer experience and showed that AI/ML is the most leveraged deeptech (54% of use cases), followed by big data or descriptive analytics (39%) and intelligent automation (7%). 
 
With a growing push towards an AI-led digital transformation, specific categories such as predictive analysis (especially in non-real-time scenarios), conversational AI, computer Vision, and generative AI have garnered heightened focus among Indian B2B SaaS firms.  
 
Notably, the study noted that breakthrough Indian B2B SaaS companies, who are inventive deeptech focused, can potentially unlock sustained annual recurring revenue (ARR) Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30-50%. 
 
As Indian companies transform to challenge global SaaS leaders and gain market share, inventive deeptech and intellectual property advantages can enable premium positioning and competitive advantage, Nitin Bhatt, Technology Sector Leader, EY India said.  
 
Despite immense potential, the report also highlighted challenges faced by Indian B2B SaaS companies, such as availability of deeptech talent (80%), patient capital (40%) and deeptech infrastructure (27%). 
 
The study also recommended the importance of strategic partnerships with the government and academia, scaling up the development of deeptech talent, fostering research and training modules in AI/ML, providing patient seed capital, and improving infrastructure to facilitate a conducive environment for transformative deeptech advancements in the country.