NVIDIA and Qualcomm Ventures have become part of an expanding coalition uniting prominent investors from both the United States and India, all of whom are collectively committed to nurturing India’s fast-emerging deep technology sector. This alliance, which was originally unveiled in September with pledged commitments exceeding $1 billion, emerges at a moment of strategic alignment with India’s ambitious ₹1 trillion (approximately $12 billion) national initiative designed to accelerate research, development, and innovation across critical technologies.
While NVIDIA has assumed the role of a strategic technical advisor—offering expertise and insight rather than direct financial contributions—Qualcomm Ventures has joined forces with six established Indian venture firms, bolstering the coalition’s total capital commitments by an additional $850 million.
India’s entrepreneurial landscape, now recognized as one of the most vibrant globally, encompasses more than 180,000 startups and over 120 companies that have achieved unicorn status. In its formative years, much of India’s startup ecosystem emulated Western counterparts by adopting similar consumer and marketplace models. Over time, however, this ecosystem matured into a powerhouse for software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprises catering predominantly to international clients, particularly in North America. More recently, the nation’s entrepreneurial energy has begun to shift toward ventures that address highly complex, infrastructure-level challenges—such as developing indigenous satellite technologies, advancing electric transportation systems, and engineering semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities. This shift also reflects India’s policy focus on achieving technological sovereignty at a time when other major global economies are engaged in the same race. Yet, despite the growing ambitions, deep-tech ventures often struggle to secure adequate capital because their long gestation periods and elevated risk profiles fall outside the typical comfort zone of conventional venture capital firms.
To bridge this funding and mentorship divide, Celesta Capital, which operates out of both Silicon Valley and India, led the establishment of the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) in September. The founding cohort included several distinguished investment firms from the United States and India—among them Accel, Blume Ventures, Premji Invest, Gaja Capital, Ideaspring Capital, Tenacity Ventures, and Venture Catalysts. Since then, the alliance has further expanded to welcome new Indian venture firms such as Activate AI, Chiratae Ventures, InfoEdge Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Singularity Holdings, and YourNest Venture Capital, illustrating growing confidence in the initiative.
The coalition has set forth a long-range agenda spanning five to ten years, encompassing not only direct capital investment into India’s deep-tech startups but also sustained efforts to provide mentorship, access to an extensive global network, and strategic guidance. It also intends to collaborate closely with the Government of India, particularly with respect to newly minted policy efforts, including the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) scheme. As Sriram Viswanathan—founding managing partner of Celesta Capital and a member of the IDTA’s executive council—succinctly characterized it, the alliance is essentially a “coalition of the willing,” a voluntary coming-together of entities determined to accelerate the growth of India’s deep technology ecosystem.
Endorsed by the Indian cabinet earlier in the year and officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ₹1 trillion RDI scheme is poised to finance and support pioneering projects in sectors such as quantum computing, robotics, biotechnology, space exploration technologies, artificial intelligence, and energy transition initiatives. The scheme’s structure, involving long-term credit instruments, equity infusions, and allocations designated for deep-tech-focused funds of funds, has been intentionally designed to channel patient, targeted financing toward high-impact innovation. Venture capital firms within the alliance are planning to leverage this governmental framework to strengthen investment pipelines into Indian-domiciled, science-heavy startups capable of competing at a global scale.
According to Viswanathan, this coordinated effort marks a seminal point for India’s technology narrative: one in which proactive governmental intervention is beginning to catalyze the creation of homegrown, deep technology enterprises. He expressed optimism that India is now witnessing a historic turning point, as both the state and private investors increasingly converge on a shared objective—the establishment of a self-sustaining deep-tech ecosystem capable of producing globally competitive companies.
Within this framework, NVIDIA’s participation represents a strategic partnership intended to elevate the technical sophistication of the endeavor. The U.S.-based semiconductor and AI computing leader, whose market capitalization has soared in tandem with the global explosion of artificial intelligence applications, will advise startups on integrating NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI platforms. Beyond that, NVIDIA plans to deliver specialized workshops, technical sessions, and training modules through its Deep Learning Institute. The company will also lend its voice to high-level policy discussions between India’s government, industry representatives, and technology stakeholders, all aimed at advancing India’s capabilities in deep technologies. Although NVIDIA itself will not be investing financially, Vishal Dhupar, managing director of NVIDIA South Asia, stressed that the company is committed to sharing its technical know-how, scalable computing infrastructure, and engineering insights with participating Indian startups. Viswanathan hailed NVIDIA’s involvement as a powerful validation of the Indian deep-tech movement, emphasizing that the company’s endorsement signals an inflection point for ecosystem credibility and international recognition.
In contrast to NVIDIA’s advisory role, Qualcomm Ventures is engaging as both an investor and ecosystem amplifier. The San Diego-based semiconductor company has been investing in India’s technology space since 2008, with early landmark investments in firms such as MapmyIndia—a digital mapping platform that went public in 2021—and IdeaForge, a leading drone technology company that successfully listed in 2023. Qualcomm’s involvement in the IDTA, however, extends substantially beyond financial contribution. As noted by Rama Bethmangalkar, the firm’s managing director for India, Qualcomm Ventures intends to actively connect deep-tech startups with its extensive ecosystem of portfolio companies, channel partners, and internal engineering and business teams. Such cross-collaboration is expected to accelerate knowledge exchange and foster scalable technological outcomes aligned with national priorities in domains like semiconductors, quantum science, and artificial intelligence.
Bethmangalkar further remarked that building alignment and synergy among investors who share a forward-looking vision enables them not only to pool financial capital but also to coordinate with public policy initiatives. By doing so, investors can ensure that their activities complement India’s governmental focus on critical technologies and emerging innovation clusters.
Although enthusiasm around the alliance remains high, Viswanathan has acknowledged that the IDTA should be viewed as a flexible, loosely structured partnership rather than a formal investment fund. Each participating venture firm continues to manage its own independent portfolio and investment decision-making process. The core function of the alliance, he explained, is to promote mutual learning, facilitate the flow of early-stage investment opportunities among members, and offer a collective platform to attract global attention to India’s deep-tech scene. There are, at present, no fixed or binding financial commitments between members, and contributions will likely vary depending on the specific opportunities that arise.
Despite the evolving nature of this model, India’s deep-tech funding trajectory has demonstrated remarkable momentum. According to a joint report published by industry body Nasscom and consulting firm Zinnov in April 2024, India recorded a 78% year-over-year increase in deep-tech investments, reaching $1.6 billion. Nonetheless, this figure still represents only a fraction of the capital available in more mature ecosystems such as the United States. The expectation is that initiatives like the IDTA will help narrow that disparity—not only by injecting funds but also by elevating international confidence and participation in India’s high-technology ventures.
As Bethmangalkar optimistically observed, what the Indian innovation landscape now needs are compelling role models—companies that demonstrate the potential for deep scientific and technological innovation to yield commercial success. These successes, he noted, will catalyze broader participation from entrepreneurs and investors alike, ultimately leading to an ecosystem where science-driven companies can achieve scale, sustainability, and eventual listings on major stock exchanges. In this vision, the IDTA is more than an investment collective; it is the seedbed of a decade-long transformation that could see India evolve from an outsourcing powerhouse into a global leader in invention-driven technology.
Sourse: https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/04/nvidia-qualcomm-join-u-s-indian-vcs-to-help-build-indias-next-deep-tech-startups/
