ProductNation/iSPIRT

What ProductNation/iSPIRT does

iSPIRT Foundation, operating publicly as iSPIRT (Indian Software Product Industry RoundTable) and ProductNation, is a Bangalore-headquartered, non-profit technology think-and-do tank founded in early 2013 by approximately 30 product companies and individuals. It is funded entirely by donations from individuals and institutions, with an explicit policy of refusing government, VC, MNC, and service-company money in order to preserve independence. The operating model is volunteer-led: roughly 150 industry practitioners contribute time through structured roles (Voyagers, Fellows, Mavens, Saarthis), with a small paid core of Fellows-in-Residence serving 18-24 month stints.

The organization's substantive output is Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). iSPIRT co-developed the India Stack — a suite of open APIs including Aadhaar authentication, e-KYC via Digilocker, e-Sign, UPI payments, and the Account Aggregator (DEPA) framework for consent-driven data sharing. It also built OCEN (Open Credit Enablement Network), an API layer connecting lenders with Loan Service Providers to serve credit-starved MSMEs, and CitizenStack, vigyanx, Vishvamitra, Pushpaka, and MYIRI as additional platform initiatives. These are open-access public goods distributed free of commercial interest, not commercial SaaS products.

iSPIRT organizes its work around three pillars: Policy (converting ideas into proposals for RBI, NPCI, MeiTY, TRAI), Playbook (BTRC sessions, Playbook Roundtables, #PNCamp, ProductNation blog for product entrepreneurs), and Market Catalysts (ecosystem-level interventions for UPI 2.0, AI/ML in SaaS, and data empowerment). Monetization is donation-based; there is no priced product. Headcount is reported in the 101-250 band, with the bulk of activity delivered by unpaid volunteers.

Name

ProductNation/iSPIRT

Legal name

iSPIRT Foundation

Website

https://ispirt.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

iSPIRT is a Bangalore-based, volunteer-powered nonprofit think tank that builds India's Digital Public Infrastructure — including India Stack, UPI, DEPA, and OCEN — and supports software product entrepreneurs through policy advocacy, playbooks, and market catalyst programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Public Infrastructure and Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & EdTech for Equity (Low-cost Learning, Skills Platforms) (BPAGALAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Application Maintenance & Support (AMS) (BPAEAFAC)

Keywords

• Digital public infrastructure
• Open API frameworks
• Policy advocacy
• Software product industry
• Market catalyst programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bengaluru

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: iSPIRT sustains entirely on donations from individuals and institutions who want to support iSPIRT's long-term vision for India's hard problems. Donor institutions sometimes include market partners who have seen iSPIRT's work. Expenses include living wage for some full-time volunteers, travel expenses, and event-related incidental expenses.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

iSPIRT is a nonprofit technology think-and-do tank that develops and disseminates Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) frameworks—most notably the India Stack suite of open APIs (Aadhaar, e-KYC, e-Sign, UPI, Account Aggregator), the OCEN credit enablement network, and DEPA—as open-access public goods for India's software product industry. It complements these platforms with policy advocacy, playbooks for entrepreneurs, and market catalyst programs to drive ecosystem-level transformation.

Product overview

iSPIRT (Indian Software Product Industry RoundTable) is a not-for-profit technology think tank that develops Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and market catalysts for India's software product industry. The core platform is India Stack - a comprehensive set of open APIs including Aadhaar authentication, e-KYC document storage, e-Sign digital signatures, UPI payments, and DEPA/Account Aggregator for privacy-protected data sharing. This foundational infrastructure is complemented by OCEN (Open Credit Enablement Network) for credit access, and various engagement platforms (CitizenStack, vigyanx, Vishvamitra, Pushpaka). On the product development side, iSPIRT offers experiential learning programs including Playbook Roundtables and #PNCamp for entrepreneurs, supported by the ProductNation blog community. The organization also produces PolicyHacks initiatives and Product Industry Monitor reports for evidence-based policymaking. iSPIRT operates through a volunteer model with three pillars: Policy (advocacy and government engagement), Playbook (entrepreneur education), and Market Catalysts (ecosystem building through BTRC sessions).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• India Stack A complete set of open APIs for India's Digital Public Infrastructure including Aadhaar authentication, e-KYC document storage, e-Sign digital signatures, UPI payments, and privacy-protected data sharing through Account Aggregator. Enables developers to build presence-less, paperless, and cashless applications for financial services, healthcare, and education sectors.
• OCEN (Open Credit Enablement Network) Open Credit Enablement Network providing APIs for interaction between lenders and Loan Service Providers. Acts as digital bridge between credit-starved MSMEs and diverse pool of lenders, enabling financial ecosystem evolution through technology, policy, and trust alignment.
• DEPA (Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture) Consent-driven data sharing framework that empowers individuals to control how their data is shared while preserving rights and trust. Provides privacy-protected data sharing within the India Stack ecosystem for financial, healthcare, and telecom sectors.
• CitizenStack Digital infrastructure platform for citizen services, part of iSPIRT's digital public infrastructure initiatives for government service delivery.
• vigyanx Innovation platform under iSPIRT's digital public infrastructure initiatives.
• Vishvamitra Digital public infrastructure platform under iSPIRT's Engage With Us initiatives.
• Pushpaka Platform under iSPIRT's digital public infrastructure initiatives.
• MYIRI Market catalyst initiative under iSPIRT's Engage With Us program.
• BTRC (Bootcamps, Teardowns, Roundtables, and Cohorts) Market catalyst engagement program helping startups navigate market and mindset shifts through experiential learning sessions focused on specific market shifts including AI/ML in SaaS, UPI 2.0, and data empowerment.
• Playbook Roundtables Small, intimate, and intense experiential learning sessions for product entrepreneurs at the scale hacking stage. Focuses on major market shifts and playbook development for software product companies.
• #PNCamp (Discovery Hacking) Experiential learning program with full day devoted to Discovery Hacking sessions. Pilot format for aspiring product entrepreneurs combining small cohort pedagogy with hands-on learning.
• ProductNation Blog and Community Industry watering hole for software product industry providing platform for crucial conversations amongst practitioners, connecting product entrepreneurs and sharing playbook knowledge.
• PolicyHacks Policy advocacy initiative aimed at better understanding and use of policy by software product industry. Includes research, analysis, demystification of public policy issues, and events such as Google Hangouts, blogs, and Q&A sessions.
• Product Industry Monitor Reports Industry metrics program in partnership with Stanford GSB providing credible industry data for effective policymaking. First report released February 2014.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 650 million UPI transactions processed daily
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RBI (Reserve Bank of India)coreStrategic or Co-development PartneriSPIRT works with RBI on policy development for digital public infrastructure, including Account Aggregator specifications, MSME committee support, and Public Credit Registry recommendations. No commercial arrangements between iSPIRT and RBI.
• NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on UPI payment protocol development and digital payments infrastructure. iSPIRT provides technology standards expertise and co-develops frameworks with NPCI.
• MeiTY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on electronic consent artefact frameworks, digital infrastructure policy, and government technology standards.
• TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)minorStrategic or Co-development PartneriSPIRT provides public comments and submissions on TRAI consultation papers including differential pricing and other regulatory matters.
• SahamaticoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDomain-specific organization created for Account Aggregators ecosystem development. iSPIRT engaged with Sahamati for standards and governance of the AA framework launched in 2019.
• Gates FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGates Foundation promotes India's DPI model globally as a development alternative. Bill Gates visited India and commented 'India is on the cusp of leapfrogging!' in reference to India Stack and digital infrastructure.
• United NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN promotes India's Digital Public Infrastructure model globally as a development alternative for other nations.
• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld Bank promotes India's DPI model globally as a development alternative, alongside Gates Foundation and UN.
• Banks (as Market Partners)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly adopter Wave 1 partners in UPI and Account Aggregator ecosystem. Banks serve as Payment Service Providers (PSPs) providing Open API endpoints. iSPIRT works with them without commercial arrangements to co-create and iterate on private innovation side.
• Stanford GSB (Prof. Sharique Hasan)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor for industry metrics program, producing Product Industry Monitor reports with credible industry data for policymaking.
• NASSCOMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSymbiotic relationship with NASSCOM as trade organization. iSPIRT sees NASSCOM leading the charge of converting policy prescriptions into reality while iSPIRT focuses on thought leadership and policy development.
• GSTN Suvidha Providers (GSPs)coreTechnology or IntegrationGSPs provide APIs for GST compliance. There are 34 GSPs offering APIs as part of the Open API ecosystem. iSPIRT helps Open API endpoint providers improve their developer programs.
• Aadhaar Service Providers (ASAs/AUAs)coreTechnology or IntegrationService providers for Aadhaar authentication and e-KYC services. 35+ ASAs and 200+ AUAs operating in the ecosystem. iSPIRT supports their developer program development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mozilla Foundation: Nonprofit technology organization that builds open standards and public goods (Firefox, internet health advocacy) via a community/volunteer model. Comparable to iSPIRT as a mission-driven, donor-funded nonprofit shaping open technology infrastructure and policy.
• Linux Foundation: Nonprofit consortium stewarding open-source and open-standard infrastructure (Linux, Kubernetes, Hyperledger). Comparable to iSPIRT's role as a neutral steward of open APIs and digital public infrastructure like India Stack and OCEN.
• Apache Software Foundation: Volunteer-driven nonprofit that develops and governs open-source software used as foundational infrastructure worldwide. Comparable to iSPIRT's open-governance model for India Stack and DEPA frameworks.
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): International community that develops open web standards. Comparable to iSPIRT as a standards-setting body for digital public infrastructure with global influence aspirations.
• Sahamati: Domain-specific organization co-created with iSPIRT to develop standards and governance for the Account Aggregator ecosystem launched in 2019. The closest direct operational peer — an iSPIRT-incubated entity governing consent-driven financial data sharing infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• NASSCOM: India's largest technology industry trade body with much larger scale and broader remit covering IT services and BPO. Comparable as an Indian tech-industry policy and advocacy organization, but commercial and government-funded vs. iSPIRT's nonprofit model.
• Carnegie India: Think tank focused on Indian technology and policy issues. Comparable as a policy think tank working on India's digital infrastructure and tech governance — co-developed DEPA with iSPIRT.

Emerging players

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Nonprofit advocacy organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Comparable to iSPIRT's policy advocacy pillar around data empowerment, privacy, and digital rights via frameworks like DEPA.
• Open Data Institute (ODI): Nonprofit founded by Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt to build an open, trustworthy data ecosystem. Comparable to iSPIRT's DEPA and Account Aggregator work on consent-driven data sharing infrastructure.

Others

• World Economic Forum (WEF): International organization that convenes governments and industry on technology policy including Digital Public Infrastructure. Comparable as an ecosystem convener promoting iSPIRT-built DPI models to global stakeholders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Product_nation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCsOXbdxeADMkQ22eWOIcylg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ProductNationIN
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ispirt-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ProductNation/iSPIRT