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A New India Is Here, And It Wants To Make Things
Hraness wrote this summary from a saved copy of the source. Quotations are taken word for word from the source.
gist
Ashlee Vance argues that AI agents threaten India's software outsourcing and call-center economy, so hope shifts to a new generation of hardware startups. He opens with Ather Energy, which pivoted from Stirling engines to electric scooters starting at about $1,000, is expanding to more than 1 million a year, and is worth almost $7 billion after listing in India last year. The public page covers the opening of the essay, through Ather; the rest is for paid subscribers.
ideas
- AI agents hit India's core tech business. Agents that code and handle customer service undermine the outsourcing, services, and call-center work seen from Hyderabad's skyline, a fear behind a massive decline in Indian tech stocks over the past year.
- Hard-tech startups carry the hope. Vance lists Ather, Airbound, Alteon, and Aspera Industries as hardware companies building machines unlike anything elsewhere, meant to help India compete with China and the United States.
- Ather is the leading example. Founded in 2013 to build Stirling engines fueled by agricultural waste, it now makes electric scooters with in-house frames, motor controllers, battery packs, and software, plus its own charging network and over-the-air features like pothole detection.
- Scale is arriving. Ather sells low-cost, sporty, and comfort scooters from about $1,000 and is expanding its lines past 1 million scooters a year; Vance toured the plant with CEO and co-founder Tarun Mehta.
quotes
“Artificial intelligence agents that can code and handle customer service tasks undermine a lot of what makes this place tick.”
“The company is expanding its manufacturing lines to produce more than 1 million scooters per year.”