Thanks @ashleevance for sparking this discussion. I've said this in many discussions: the reason India VC hasn't produced real venture returns historically is simply because it's not taken enough real venture risk. But things are getting better. Two archetypes: the experienced technologist / academic, and the very young rebellious autodidact, are both increasingly getting funded. Funds like ours have been the FIRST believers (since 2022) in 10 deep-tech ventures @AntlerIndia: @inspecity - Logistics for cities in space @AsperaAero - Autonomous cargo planes, by @khushhhi_ who you profiled) Green Aero Propulsion - To make India a producer of advanced turbine engines @MEINE_electric - Fast charging, long-duration energy storage @BioMandrake - Protein design and gene editing infrastructure, alternative to CRISPR attempted from India @ArmoryShield - Counter-drone systems Uncharted AI - Robotics for mining DUSQ @get_innergize - Most advanced sleep regulation system @kubocare - Hardware for senior care @hexo - Self-learning agent infrastructure We're doing our bit, and it's easy to curse the VC ecosystem, but the challenges are ofc nuanced and extend well beyond VCs: (1) Historically, first checks were hindered not only because of a lack of courage or imagination, but also because the pre-seed / angel guys had no clue who would fund ventures downstream. There was almost nothing....changing rapidly in the last 2-3 yrs. (Credit to govt, RDI, the OG deeptech funds growing in size, as well as the impact of folks like @srajagopalan @lachygroom...) (2) Personally, I am now more focused on the question of DEMAND sources (pilots, local corporates, govt procurement outside of defence and space..) for deeptech startups than funding alone. E.g. China even insures the first customers of new tech. Part of the solution is to connect Indian deep-tech founders globally, pretty early. This is what we spend a lot of effort on: xitter.cf/nitinsharma1/status/21… (3) Definitely need many more people doing much larger first checks for true moonshots. (4) Other systemic factors: When it takes 1-2 years to shut companies down, when domestic corporates run endless pilots, don't value startups, or have no incentives to bet on local deep tech startups, it's not hard to see why historically VCs in places outside of Silicon Valley have sucked in taking true deep tech risk. But this is all in the past. The future looks bright for the 22nd century Indian founder.

The unofficial start of Embark 4 With more Fleet Week action and views from atop Coit Tower @AntlerIndia @AntlerGlobal @raghavgoyal97 @jasnoorgill

IMHO, this is a very important article by @astrokaran Even with the local funding boom, Indian deeptech startups should want to look abroad early on for customer access. (Both for revenue + to benchmark themselves against the best and beat them on some vector. Being the best in India isn’t enough). I have found myself making the same point in at least 50 different conversations over the last quarter. The recent funding stimulus ($11 bn) for #deeptech is incredible, much needed, game changing. But in parallel, new demand sources (short-term trials, long-term revenue) also have to grow beyond govt buying in defence / space. 3 basic options: (1) The pace at which the Indian private sector tries and buys from deeptech startups. W.r.t the mentality of endless pilots, and large company ego. This won’t change fast… (2) Procurement from the govt outside of defense and space. China even insures the first customers of new tech. (3) Faster ways for Indian deeptech startups to find GLOBAL demand. Else the market will be distorted. Just too many VCs rebranding themselves as deep tech to seek LP capital is not going to make us a deeptech nation :) PS: In our small way, #3 is where we are aiming to help beyond the capital. With the 10 deeptech (yes, actual deeptech) ventures we have been the earliest investors in, we are trying to facilitate more global access early on. We’ve helped 7 of these find their first customers and capital in Australia, the US and Japan. More to come. Inspecity Green Aero Propulsion Armory Meine Electric Uncharted AI Mandrake Bio Aspera Kubo Care DUSQ Aina @AntlerIndia

Congrats guys @RebhavBharadwaj @adityathakurgg Young A.I.-native founders are surprising everyone with their clock speed and audacity. Excited for @getdodgeai’s next phase, working with @Accel (@skirani @prayanks) and Google @AIFuturesFund Dodge is yet another Antler Embark startup with int’l founders gaining traction quickly in the US market. Great also to partner with our good friend and veteran investor @rohini_c and the amazing @aarthir Rebhav was our intern :) and we knew we had to back him - even if a boring enterprise category wasn’t the obvious fit. It’s been great to see him and Aditya multiply their ambition and execute: from landing one of the largest Fortune 500 customers within a quarter of landing in the US, going through @AntlerGlobal Embark, all the way now to saving 26,000 (outsourced) billable hours already for their customers. ITSM, and specifically ERP maintenance and system integrator spend is a great fit for agentic AI automation, and Dodge AI has a great shot at being a market leader. entrepreneur.economictimes.i…