India’s Deeptech Moment Has Arrived. Now Comes the Hard Part.
For years, India has proudly called itself the startup capital of the world.
But let’s be honest.
A large part of our startup ecosystem has revolved around solving convenience problems—food delivery, quick commerce, fintech, and marketplaces.
Now, something much bigger is quietly happening.
India’s deeptech ecosystem is beginning to accelerate.
Funding has touched $1.47 billion in 2025, up from just $484 million in 2020. The country now has over 4,200 deeptech startups, driven by AI, semiconductors, robotics, manufacturing, space technology, biotech, and advanced engineering.
That’s not just another startup trend.
It’s the beginning of India’s next innovation chapter.
Deeptech Is Different From Traditional Startups
Most startups focus on improving existing business models.
Deeptech creates entirely new technologies.
It takes years of research, patents, experimentation, engineering, and scientific breakthroughs before a product even reaches the market.
This isn’t about launching an app in six months.
This is about solving problems that didn’t have solutions yesterday.
And that’s exactly why deeptech creates long-term value.
Our Universities Are Becoming Startup Factories
One statistic immediately stood out to me.
Institutions like BITS Pilani, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Madras are producing a growing number of deeptech founders.
For years, Indian engineering colleges were known for producing employees.
Today, they’re increasingly producing entrepreneurs.
That’s a mindset shift worth celebrating.
When research meets entrepreneurship, innovation becomes scalable.
But We Still Have a Long Way to Go
While the progress is encouraging, the comparison with the United States is a reality check.
India has around 259 deeptech startups in this category.
The US has 673.
The funding gap is even wider.
US deeptech investments continue to outpace India by a massive margin because their ecosystem has stronger links between academia, venture capital, research institutions, defence innovation, and private industry.
The good news?
India is moving in the right direction.
The challenge now is accelerating faster.
Funding Alone Won’t Solve the Problem
One number worries me more than the funding figures.
The private sector contributes only 41% of India’s R&D spending, compared to over 70% in countries like the US and China.
Innovation doesn’t happen only inside universities.
Companies need to invest in research.
Governments can create policies.
Universities can build talent.
But businesses have to commercialize innovation.
Without industry participation, deeptech will always remain a promising idea instead of becoming a global force.
AI Is Accelerating Everything
Almost every deeptech category today has AI embedded into it.
Healthcare.
Semiconductors.
Manufacturing.
Agriculture.
Climate technology.
Space.
Robotics.
AI isn’t replacing deeptech.
It’s amplifying it.
This is why the next decade won’t just produce AI startups.
It will produce AI-powered deeptech companies solving problems we’ve struggled with for decades.
My Take
For the first time in a long time, I feel India is shifting from being known for services to being recognized for innovation.
We’ve already shown the world we can build software.
Now we have the opportunity to build technology that the world depends on.
Deeptech may never create overnight unicorns or viral headlines.
But if India gets this right, the companies born in our research labs today could become the global technology leaders of tomorrow.
And honestly, that’s a future worth investing in.
