Frontier tech is pulling fresh money into India’s venture scene. AUM Ventures has banked Rs 225 crore ($23.6M) in the first close of its second deeptech fund, with sights set on a Rs 750 crore war chest for early-stage science and engineering companies.
The India Innovation Fund II targets pre-seed and seed investments from $750,000 to $2M across space tech, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, aerospace, defence tech, robotics, energy transition and advanced manufacturing, holding back capital for Series A and B follow-ons.
International limited partners, including family offices and founders from the US and the Middle East, supplied more than 65% of the opening tranche. AUM’s first fund, a $30M vehicle, backed Skyroot Aerospace, Smiles.ai, Esports XO, Myways.ai and Firstsense.
India’s government has pushed hard to seed the sector, approving a Rs 1-lakh-crore ($12B) research and innovation fund-of-funds last year. BlueHill Capital and Inflexor Ventures have also closed fresh deeptech vehicles recently, deepening the pool of capital chasing IP-led startups.
The new fund gives hardware-heavy founders another source of patient money as the country’s technology ecosystem matures.
