Beyond Software: Nikhil Kamath’s Vision for Indian Consumer Brands in Global Markets

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath is charting a new course for Indian entrepreneurship. Moving away from the conventional focus on domestic consumption and software-led exports, Kamath is championing a strategy to turn India into a global powerhouse for consumer goods. Through his experimental startup incubator, ‘The Foundery,’ Kamath aims to cultivate homegrown brands capable of competing in the world’s most demanding retail environments—specifically the United States.

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2026, Kamath detailed his vision to reshape the global footprint of Indian manufacturing. While the startup ecosystem in India has historically been dominated by digital services and software-as-a-service (SaaS) models, Kamath believes the country is ready to pivot toward physical, tangible products.

The ‘Satya Nadella’ Reality Check

The genesis of this shift, according to Kamath, lies in a candid exchange he had with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. During a meeting, the tech giant’s leader offered a sobering observation about India’s influence on the American consumer landscape.

“I was having a meal with him, and he said, ‘Nikhil, I’m Indian. I live in America. In the entirety of my day, in 24 hours living in the Valley, I don’t touch an Indian product, either software or consumer or hardware of any sort,'” Kamath recalled.

Nadella pointed out that while he regularly interacts with various Chinese-made items—ranging from digital platforms like TikTok to physical hardware—Indian-made goods are virtually absent from his daily routine. This realization struck a chord with the Zerodha co-founder, who began questioning why India’s export ambitions have been so narrowly defined by the software industry.

Shifting Focus: From Software to Soap

At The Foundery, a structured 90-day program designed to launch new startups, the objective is deliberate: building brands that don’t just serve India’s massive domestic population but are specifically engineered for the U.S. market.

Kamath emphasized that these products could be as simple as toothpaste, shampoo, or household essentials. The goal is to move beyond the “software-only” narrative and tap into the sheer scale of the American consumer market.

“We look at America because it’s the largest consumer market in the world,” Kamath explained. “We’re trying to figure out whatever it might be. It might be a shampoo brand, it might be a toothpaste. We’re building with a very focused target of these brands being able to sell there.”

Leveraging Labor Arbitrage

Kamath argues that India possesses a distinct competitive advantage in the form of labor arbitrage. While industries like quick commerce have already successfully exploited this model within India’s borders, Kamath believes the same logic can be applied to large-scale manufacturing for global export.

By producing consumer goods in India and exporting them to high-value markets, India can strengthen its economy, bolster its foreign exchange reserves, and address fiscal deficits more effectively.

“When we speak about fiscal deficit and the need to bring more dollars into India in a manner that we become stronger, I don’t think we need to be limited to things like software,” Kamath noted. “Why not consumer goods? We have cheaper labor… policies are conducive to labor arbitrage businesses existing in India.”

Through The Foundery, Kamath hopes to prove that the next wave of Indian unicorns won’t necessarily be apps on a phone, but physical products found on the shelves of American supermarkets.

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