India’s burgeoning deeptech — spacetech, AI, semiconductor, robotics and IoT — sector is calling for more venture capital (VC) money and government support. And deeptech VCs are answering this call.

Over the past year, we have covered the deeptech investment playbooks for some of the major funds in India, and joining this group is growX ventures, which recently launched its second fund with a target corpus of INR 400 Cr (about $47.12 Mn)

For growx ventures’ founder Ashish Taneja, India’s future is all about deeptech. Founded in 2008, the firm aims to support around 20-24 startups over the next two and a half years with its second fund, half of which will be deployed in deeptech startups.

The firm’s first SEBI-registered fund was launched in 2018 from which it invested in a total of 17 startups, eight of which were in deeptech, across segments such as spacetech, EVs, robotics, and cyber security.

In a conversation with Inc42, Taneja said that over the years, growX has focussed on deeptech investments, but at the same time, it also backed B2B, enterprise tech, and SaaS startups. But the second fund is almost entirely dedicated to the deeptech sector.

“What we have noticed is that the quality of entrepreneurs pursuing these deeptech dreams is now far wider. A lot more young graduates from institutions like IIT Chennai, BITS Pilani, or IISC are coming out with ambitious ideas at very early stages of their careers to build something unique. So, we remain excited. Gauging this great prospect in deeptech, our fund II will be dedicated to deeptech at the seed stage,” Taneja told Inc42 in a recent interaction.

Taneja’s optimism comes from his belief that India will see some truly path-breaking ideas coming out in the deeptech domain as well as large companies being created. But if there’s been one persistent complaint about deeptech VCs, it’s about the short horizons and untenable exit points that many seek. How will growX tackle Indian deeptech’s need for patient capital?

Edited excerpts

Inc42: We haven’t seen too many unicorns from the deeptech sector in India so far? Are investors wary of high multiples and valuations in this space?

Ashish Taneja: Honestly, when we talk about deeptech unicorns, I don’t think we should talk about valuations but rather from a value and revenue perspective.

For example, take spacetech as a sector, which has witnessed some significant developments over the last two years. If you look at the........

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