Deep tech companies are gaining momentum since numerous investors in India and VC funds started investing in the growth of technology-powered businesses. Multiple deep tech investors in India, venture funds and other deep tech enthusiasts are now willing to invest in the various stages of operations of deep tech startups.
Basically, the world is moving faster in terms of innovation, and people are welcoming new and advanced technology in the form of machine learning and robotics to energy efficient devices and more. Deep tech brings in the tangible engineering innovations that would be the catalyst to scientific advances and discoveries.
Yes, Deep tech startups in India are growing just as much as deep tech startups elsewhere in the world. However, we all know how important is funding for these startups but that being said, raising funds is not the easiest even in the world of now, which is almost dominated with startups that are springing up almost every single day.
Top Deep Tech investors in India
Besides, the fund-raising process is also significantly time-consuming, so a Deep tech startup must understand where it stands in the ecosystem and brush up with all it has and everything that it is wanting to add to the ecosystem.
Being innovative, researching effectively on the investors and the venture capitalists that are operating in the same ecosystem, and knowing them are some essential things that they need to add in along with their rock-solid business plan, revenue model and value proposal. The acceptance can take over 6 months to be blunt, so a good amount of preparation is typically required if they need to raise funding.
However, all of these can be much easier with SanchiConnect, which is a platform just for the deep tech companies and their investors. SanchiConnect believes in professing its enthusiasm about deep tech companies in India by actively helping both the Deep tech investors and Deep tech startups in India with a single platform.
So, funding is important and something that the deep tech startups simply cannot miss out on. This is why, for the ease of the budding deep tech companies, startups, the deep tech entrepreneurs and those who are in the making, we are here with the top 5 deep tech startup funds in India. However, prior to delving into the funds supporting deep tech, we will first delve into the major funding stages or rounds that the startups witness today.
A Bit about the deep tech startup fundraising stages
Every startup company begins with an idea that takes time to flourish and grow into a massive industry, which can influence the world at large but that happens in tranches, just like funding comes. There are different stages of fundraising even for the deep tech startups in India just like the other startups from any other industry. Here are the most prominent of these stages:
Pre-Seed Stage
Here the entrepreneur ignites the idea of working in the Deep tech niche. Usually, small funds can bring the company to life, and the channels of raising funds are informal. The entrepreneur prepares a prototype to meet the product or service demand. This stage is also called ‘Proof of Concept (POC)’.
Seed Stage
The entrepreneur needs to go through field trials and understand the market demand for both the services and products. Here funding is required for a formal team-building and hiring mentors to proceed. In this stage, the sources for the Deep tech funds are Incubators who help in the launching process and offer other value-added services.
The government has also initiated many schemes in the form of collateral-free debt. Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and SIDBI Fund of Funds are the most potent source of funds for the deep tech startups in India of now. Several investors fund startups based on their potential and ask for equity in return. They are also called angel investors; some renowned names are Mumbai Angels, Indian Angel Network, Lead Angels, etc.
Several platforms help in raising money in the form of crowdfunding. Here everyone contributes a small amount to assist the business stay on track.
Early Traction Stage
In this stage, the startup has already launched the products or services in the market. And, the metrics need to be monitored in the form of revenue, customer base, downloads, etc. Thus, funds are required to scale up the business and expand. The most common supporters are Venture Capital Funds, organizations professionally managing every investment. They usually take startup equity in return.
Banks/Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) also offer formal debt at this stage. Venture Debt Funds are private investment organizations that invest money in the form of debt. They often form partnerships with Angel or VC funds.
Scaling
In this stage, Deep tech startups have already started building revenues and witnessing exponential growth. Here the common investors are the Venture Capital Funds
VC funds for late-stage startups. Often, a pool of VCs invests together in the startup as well. Other than that, Private Equity/Investment Firms also invest in late-stage startups.
10 Prominent Deep Tech Investors in India
Based on the stage, a deep tech entrepreneur must approach the VC firms that are willing to invest in technological innovations.
1. Baring Private Equity Partners India
Founded in 1984, One of the earliest PE funds in India, about 4000 crores invested across 4 funds in 60+ companies. Baring Private Equity Partners has a rich heritage of entrepreneurial initiative that began nearly three decades ago when the firm became one of the first pan-European providers of private equity capital. As long term investors, Baring’s approach is to invest ahead of market trends to generate superior risk-adjusted returns. Baring portfolio includes Satsure, toch, Acko, Homelane to name a few.
2. IP Ventures
Founded in 2018, Inflection Point Ventures envisions to be the world’s most accessible angel-investing network providing funding & non-monetary support to startups to enable them to scale & grow. (IPV) is a 7000+ strong members angel investing firm which supports new-age entrepreneurs, providing them monetary & experiential capital by connecting them with a diverse group of investors. The portfolio includes ComOlho, Ishitva robotic system, Fab Heads, BharatPe more.
3. Pi Ventures
Manish Singha and Umakant Soni founded this company in the year 2016. Their aim is to support the Deep Tech startups and those working on advanced technologies like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. They started in Bengaluru and soon grew to fund 13 AI and ML-focused entrepreneurs. Their investment list includes OweMe, SigTuple, Ten3T, Niramai Health Analytics, CustomerSuccessBox, Capital Small Finance Bank and more.
4. Sequoia India
The firm was founded in 2000 and takes a special interest in funding startups in various stages like seed, early, middle, late stage, Series A and more. It has already raised over 305 fundings for startups across varying niches. Among these, Vue.ai and Mad Street Dan are 2 of the AI startups that Sequoia has funded.
5. Blume Ventures
Starting in 2011, Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath have supported many Deep tech startups. Their objective is to support startups implementing AI and thriving in solving Indian problems with their innovation. Though not particularly AI and ML-startups, Blume Ventures boasts of leading many investments in deep tech startups.
Based in Mumbai, Blume Ventures has already supported 120 startups out of which 10 are deep tech startups in India. They have supported the ventures of GreyOrange, Carbon Clean Solutions, Systemantics, Agaralabs, Tartan Sense, Ethereal Machine, Locus.sh, and more.
6. Accel Venture
Accel Venture has supported Deep Tech startups and other startups and companies from across the world. They are among one of the most recommended and active VC funds across the world, which takes pride in making 1238 investments that Accel has made so far across the globe. It has also invested around $30-40 million once in Pi Ventures in the year 2017. They have invested in many AI-focused startups, such as Mad Street Den and SigTuple, Chennai-based.
7. Chiratae Ventures
This VC fund focuses on every entrepreneur who belongs to the tech industry and is trying to make a difference in India. Formerly known as IDG Venture Capital, Chiratae has been investing in some of the biggies like Flipkart, Myntra, Yatra, Manthan Software, Valyoo (Lenskart.com), Newgen, Brainbees (FirstCry.com), Vserv, Actoserba (Zivame.com), and more. All these brands have witnessed successful funding rounds and has scaled throughout the years.
8. Speciale Invest
Special are attracted to disruptive innovations that are deeply rooted in multiple streams of science, engineering and technology. Speciale takes a first-principles approach in evaluating technology, their immersive interest allows them to better gauge the product-market fit and therefore the scale of impact. They want to see large-scale impact and solutions to universal problems. With cheques of $100K to $500K, Speciale current active fund began in 2021 and will be used to invest in 20+ companies and for follow-on investments. They have invested in many emerging tech startups, such as Agnikul Cosmos, Astrogate Labs, CynLr, Scapic, The E Plane company and many more.
9. Yournest
As a pioneering, pre-Series A, early-stage venture capital fund established in 2011 to support audacious startups building life-changing businesses, YourNest strongly believes in the human capability and works with the dictum of ‘what is impossible today is routine tomorrow’.
After successfully deploying 2 funds, YourNest venture capital is, at present , raising its 3rd fund ( Innovative Products VC Fund III ) Focused on disruptive technologies to enhance the way mankind leverages the value of time, this US$ 75 mn fund will invest in startup founders across a spectrum of deep tech domains: AI, IoT, Robotics, AR/VR/MR, Dev. Tools, Edge Cloud and other Digital products.
Yournest Portfolio includes Miko, dozee, VTION ans WIOM.
10. Endiya Partners
Endiya Partners is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in Indian product start-ups that are globally relevant. Leveraging deep domain expertise along with vast entrepreneurial and operating experience, the Endiya team plays a key role in co-creating scalable businesses. Endiya’s portfolio consists of disruptive and category-defining companies across SaaS, deep tech, Financial Services, and Healthcare sectors. Endiya’s current portfolio includes Darwinbox, Kissht, Qapita, SigTuple, Steradian Semiconductors, Zluri, Cygni and more.
11. 8x ventures
8X Ventures invests in and supports startups that will drive disruptive innovation and add long-term value to industries and economies.
Our primary focus areas are: Geographies: Asia (primarily India and Singapore), MENA (primarily UAE, KSA, and Egypt), and Europe.CleanTech (primarily Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Solutions), Smart logistics, Smart mobility, and Industry 4.0 are examples of industries.Artificial intelligence (AI), big data, 3D printing, robotics, and the Internet of Things are all examples of technologies (IoT)
Top deep tech investors in India
- Baring Private Equity Partners India.
- ⦁ IP Ventures.
- ⦁ Pi Ventures.
- ⦁ Sequoia India.
- ⦁ Blume Ventures.
- ⦁ Accel Venture.
- ⦁ Chiratae Ventures.
- ⦁ Speciale Invest.
- ⦁ Yournest.
- ⦁ Endiya Partners.
- 8X ventures
Deep tech is the Future and SanchiConnect is the Solution
The year 2022 started on an optimistic note as VC firms are willing to invest in the deep tech niche and innovations. The response rate is relatively high, and the business background also involves many variants such as pharma, automotive, retail, etc. Indian investors have been holding the ground for deep science solutions.
SanchiConnect is among those renowned platforms that are assisting deep tech startups, enterprises, entrepreneurs, investors and more, and helping them connect with each other build a network for the ultimate growth of all of the deep tech enthusiasts. Their objective is to assist in scaling up a business involved in scientific innovations.
Backed by some of the most popular VCs and angel investors, SanchiConnect stands as a trustworthy platform in support of the deep tech startups, SMEs, entrepreneurs and others to help them grow both in strength and revenue.
https://youtu.be/uasJNrYRjrQ
