Nvidia joins India Deep Tech Alliance, adding new members and $850 million pledge
Nvidia joined Indian and U.S. Investors in supporting the deep-tech startups of South Asia on Wednesday. The group has added new members, and received more than $850 Million in capital commitments.
The India Deep Tech Alliance has welcomed new investors including Qualcomm Ventures. Activate AI. InfoEdge Ventures. Chirate Ventures.
In September, the program was launched with an initial $1 billion commitment to support industries like space, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
Nvidia, as a founding member of the group and a strategic advisor, will provide technical advice, training, and policy input in order to assist Indian deep-tech startup companies adopting its AI and computing technologies.
The latest move is to address what analysts and founders describe as a chronic underfunding problem for research-driven startups. These startups struggle to attract venture capital due to their long development timelines, and uncertain paths to profit.
The announcement comes just days after the Indian Government launched a $12 Billion initiative to boost research and development. India is a giant in services, but lags behind in manufacturing.
According to a Nasscom report, deep-tech startup funding increased by 78% in India last year to $1.6 billion. However, this still only accounted for about one-fifth out of the total $7.4 billion raised.
Entrepreneurs reacted angrily to a call by an Indian minister in April to focus on high-end technologies rather than grocery delivery and to follow the example of China.
Experts say that deep-tech investments are vital for building core technologies, such as chips and artificial intelligence, to secure economic and strategic autonomy.
Sriram Viswanathan is the founding managing partner of Celesta Capital. He said that with increasing government support, "there is no better time for India" to consider deep tech.
Celesta, who has invested in Agnikul Cosmos, a space-tech company, and IdeaForge, a drone manufacturer, is among the investors who launched the alliance, along with Accel Ventures, Blume Ventures Gaja Capital, Premji Invest and others.
The members of the alliance aim to provide mentorship and access to their network to Indian deep tech startups in the next 5 to 10 years.
"There is no real pooling capital." Viswanathan said that the voluntary nature of the system is similar to Nasscom.
(source: Reuters)