Bengalureans think Mumbai’s rents are high and the city lacks the “tech bro” culture, while Mumbaikars believe Bengaluru is no match for the financial hub’s access to capital and professionalism.
However, Aakrit Vaish, CEO and Co-founder of AI chatbot company Haptik, wants to settle the debate once and for all.
India’s financial capital Mumbai can offer the best lifestyle for people working in the tech ecosystem, Vaish said during a fireside chat with YourStory’s Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma.
“If you look at every mature tech ecosystem–be it the US or China, they are all based in arguably the most expensive cities like the Bay Area and Shanghai,” he said.
“And the reason for that is most people who end up working in tech startups tend to be young. And these cities, which end up being costlier, offer a great lifestyle for people of that age group, which Mumbai also does. For young people, it is definitely the best city.”
He said that the tech ecosystem in India centered around Bengaluru because many founders emerged from the IT service sector, which flourished in the city during the 90s and 2000s.
“Why it happens here is the tech and product ecosystem was born out of the IT services industry,” said Vaish. “These people set it up in Bengaluru because they wanted a better cost structure. As a result of this when those founders started up they just found it more convenient here because they are used to a certain cost.”
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In November last year, Vaish and Harsh Jain, co-founder of Dream11, led the effort, along with 35 other founders, to form an association called the Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai (TEAM). The group said it would work with policymakers, regulators and various government bodies to foster a better tech ecosystem in the city, which suffers from high rental costs.
In March this year, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis admitted that Mumbai has lost out to Bengaluru on startups and tech because the state did not create the proper infrastructure and because the cost of running business in Mumbai is high.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
