Deeptech will define India's next growth chapter

India stands at a generational inflection point that will define its economic and strategic future. The previous decade saw the nation build capacity in foundational digital public infrastructure and service-led platforms. However, in today’s global environment of geopolitical volatility, supply chain reconfiguration and technological disruption, India’s growth will be defined by IP-led, deeptech innovation that strengthens foundational resilience across critical sectors, builds strategic capability, and accelerates the nation’s transition from technology adopter to global innovation leader. 

This transition is already ongoing with India’s deeptech opportunity unfolding across core sectors. With India’s energy demand set to grow four-fold over the next decade, driven by electrification and the rapid build-out of AI capabilities, there is a growing need for intelligent, decentralised energy systems that power future-ready infrastructure at scale. Supply chains and manufacturing contribute around 17% of India’s GDP today; as the industrial economy scales, innovation in automation, digitisation, and robotics will be critical in replacing import dependencies and strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity.

India’s agriculture sector was valued at $690 billion in 2025, making it the world’s second-largest agricultural producer. Our bioeconomy has grown from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024. Therefore, the opportunity to deploy scalable, climate-resilient innovation that redefines how food is grown, distributed, and consumed is immense. 

In advanced materials, where AI-driven discovery is accelerating the pace of breakthroughs, the rapid development and deployment of high-performance, low-cost materials inputs is unlocking new levels of efficiency and durability across manufacturing value chains. Finally, developments in frontier sectors such as AI, semiconductors, robotics, biotech, and space are driving intelligence, precision, and real-time optimisation in India’s growth pathway. 

We are witnessing a rare convergence of enabling factors to help realise the potential of this generational shift. First, policy architecture is creating the environment required for deeptech to thrive. Landmark initiatives such as the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, the ₹10,000 crore deeptech Fund of Funds, PLI schemes across 14 sectors, and national missions across AI, semiconductors, energy, and biotech reflect a strategic pivot that places long-horizon innovation at the centre of India’s economic strategy. 

Second, a new generation of founders is building for technological depth and long-term resilience. India is now the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, home to over 200,000 DPIIT-recognised startups. STEM-trained researchers, domain experts, and second-time entrepreneurs are increasingly focussed on solving complex challenges through first-principles design and IP-led innovation. Mature talent is also following this conviction—with senior leaders from large enterprises increasingly joining early-stage deeptech ventures. 

Third, India’s research institutions are bridging technology discovery and deployment more effectively than ever before. Translational research is gaining momentum, testbeds and validation facilities are expanding, and academic incubators are maturing—laying the foundation for accelerated lab-to-market journeys for high-potential innovation. 

Fourth, and perhaps most significantly, industry is leaning in—with large enterprises actively co-developing IP, signing structured offtake agreements, and engaging in paid pilots with deeptech startups.

For instance, AmpereHour Energy’s full-stack, battery chemistry-agnostic battery energy storage platform holds one-third of India’s contracted BESS capacity and is working with key partners such as ReNew, IndiGrid, and Serentica Renewables. Kazam is building the energy architecture for scaled EV adoption across OEMs like Mahindra, Bajaj, and TVS. Tsuyo’s next-generation indigenous powertrain solutions are deployed with Volvo, Eicher, and Sonalika Group. Dreamfly is delivering cutting-edge battery technology to leading manufacturers like L&T, Marut Drones, and Asteria Aerospace. These partnerships are no longer point-in-time experiments—they signal the beginning of India anchoring critical supply chains around home-grown innovation. 

Finally, India’s capital architecture is maturing to meet this opportunity, with the emergence of risk-appropriate financing, spanning equity, innovation-linked debt, and catalytic instruments, to meet the complex demands and longer gestation periods of deeptech ventures. 

We are also witnessing the first proof points for India’s deeptech potential, with the emergence of category leaders in maturing sectors. SEDEMAC’s recent IPO demonstrates how cutting-edge research in critical sectors like electronics manufacturing—born out of India’s academic institutes—can scale into globally competitive technology enterprises. In EV infrastructure, Kazam has emerged as the market leader building India’s energy gateway for mobility. FarMart’s digital-first, AI-enabled market linkage platform has scaled into the country’s largest agri-output player, and Eeki’s patented IoT-enabled growing chambers have created a scalable blueprint for climate-resilient precision agriculture, democratising access to affordable nutrition across diverse geographies and environments. 

A growing cohort of emerging players are also rapidly gaining traction in frontier sectors—Enlite’s AI-native building automation platform is transforming infrastructure autonomy at scale; Dreamfly is supplying high-performance, purpose-built battery systems for emerging aerial use cases; Wastelink is transforming FMCG food waste into resilient animal feed. Companies like Dharaksha, BacAlt and GreenGrahi are using industrial biomanufacturing processes to create new materials with the potential to drive efficiency across multiple industries by replacing legacy alternatives. 

India has the research depth, institutional scaffolding, policy intent, and entrepreneurial ambition to become a global hub for deeptech innovation within this decade. The path ahead will require continued alignment across stakeholders to convert scientific excellence into scalable, resilient, globally-competitive innovation enterprises that drive sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth from India, for the world. 

(The author is Founding Partner, Avaana Capital. Views are personal.)