Speciale Invest Secures ₹600 Cr for India's Deep-Tech & AI Growth
Chennai-based Speciale Invest has announced the successful closure of its third deep-tech investment fund at ₹600 crore (approximately US$72 million), significantly surpassing its initial target of ₹500 crore (US$60 million). This substantial capital injection is poised to accelerate India’s ambitions in critical technological domains, marking a pivotal moment for the nation’s burgeoning deep-tech ecosystem.
The newly secured Fund III will be strategically deployed to back 18 to 20 early-stage deep-tech startups between 2025 and 2029. Speciale Invest’s focus encompasses a wide array of high-impact sectors, including artificial intelligence (particularly AI infrastructure), advanced manufacturing, clean and sustainable energy, health technology, and the rapidly expanding space sector, encompassing orbital launch vehicles, multi-sensor satellite intelligence, and in-orbit infrastructure. The fund will also target quantum systems, dual-use defense innovation, frontier computing, and semiconductor technologies. A notable aspect of this fund is that roughly half of its corpus, approximately ₹300 crore, has been earmarked for follow-on investments, underscoring a commitment to providing sustained capital for the long development cycles inherent in deep-tech ventures.
Founded in 2017 by Vishesh Rajaram and Arjun Rao, Speciale Invest has consistently positioned itself as a first institutional investor in companies building foundational technologies from first principles. The firm’s investment thesis for Fund III is heavily centered on “sovereign tech”—innovations that are critical for India’s economic resilience and national security, aiming to reduce dependence on foreign systems. This strategic approach is reflected in their impressive portfolio of past investments, which includes pioneers like Agnikul Cosmos (orbital-class launch vehicles), The ePlane Company (electric aerial mobility), GalaxEye (multi-sensor satellite intelligence), and QNu Labs (quantum cybersecurity), among others. Speciale Invest aims to increase its average ownership stake in portfolio companies to approximately 15% with this new fund, compared to 5% in Fund I and 10% in Fund II, demonstrating a deeper commitment to its ventures.
This significant fundraising by Speciale Invest arrives at a time when India’s deep-tech ecosystem is experiencing unprecedented growth and maturity. The sector is widely recognized as the “third wave” of India’s startup evolution, shifting focus towards B2B innovation and foundational technologies rather than consumer applications. Projections indicate that India is on track to host around 3,600 deep-tech startups by 2025, solidifying its position as the seventh-largest deep-tech hub globally. Government support has also been a crucial catalyst, with initiatives such as the ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds announced in April 2025 by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, specifically designed to inject long-term capital into early-stage deep-tech ventures. Furthermore, the 2025-26 Union Budget allocated a staggering $100 billion for deep-tech research and development, signaling strong institutional backing. This growing support, coupled with increasing strategic partnerships with global technology powerhouses, is creating a fertile ground for Indian deep-tech companies to thrive.
While challenges persist, such as the need for more patient capital, streamlined regulatory frameworks, and effective commercialization pathways for research, the optimism surrounding India’s deep-tech potential is palpable. With a quarter of the world’s AI engineers and chip designers based in India, the nation possesses a formidable talent pool ready to drive innovation. Speciale Invest’s latest fund, alongside similar shifts by other venture capital firms towards IP-driven deep tech, underscores a collective conviction in India’s capacity to develop globally competitive technologies and shape the future from its own labs and workshops.