What VCs look for in pre-revenue deep tech startups

Think of composing a symphony: every element must come together in harmony long before an audience hears the final piece. The early stages of building in deep tech are no different. Founders are often creating a product that customers don’t yet know they need. There is commercial value, but it must be validated through long, demanding trials and multiple iteration cycles. Deep tech requires committing to prolonged research phases and pursuing ideas that rarely fit into familiar templates.

Despite these long research cycles and the absence of a standard playbook, almost every new fund in 2025 references deep tech in its investment strategy discussions. One would believe there is a discernible pattern in how venture capitalists evaluate such companies long before the first customer or rupee of revenue appears. The scrutiny is intense, the risk–return equation highly polarising, but these moonshots carry the potential to unlock or create billions of dollars in market value. Understanding how seasoned VCs weigh risk, vision, and scientific possibility can make the difference between an idea that stays on the lab bench and one that builds an entirely new category.

Clarity of scientific problem and founder depth

Deep tech investors first assess whether the founder has exceptional clarity on the scientific bottleneck they are unlocking. Pre-revenue companies may not have traction, but they must show precision in articulating what shift in the world becomes possible because of their work. If a founder can step outside jargon and contextualise why the breakthrough matters at scale, it signals to investors that the team truly understands their own innovation.

Like most early-stage businesses, but more so in deep tech, the founding team is effectively the first product. Investors look for founders who can pair scientific imagination with commercial reasoning: connecting with customers, understanding industry context, mapping the hiring process, and responding thoughtfully to hard questions. Also, given the long gestation/commercialisation cycles, adaptability, curiosity, and the willingness to revisit assumptions are deeply valued.

Understanding of market timing and commercialisation paths

Pre-revenue does not mean pre-validation. Investors expect early evidence that the technology works: research papers, approved patents, simulations, prototypes, lab experiments, etc. Perseverance and repeatability trump perfection. A founder who understands and acknowledges known risks and outlines a practical path to achieve outcomes earns trust. Overpromising, on the other hand, is one of the quickest ways to lose it. Deep tech investors recognise that early proofs are indicative or early signals at best; what they care about is whether the team demonstrates scientific integrity and a sharp roadmap to move from theory to market-grade stability.

Market timing is the most important factor deep tech founders have to get right. A revolutionary idea that arrives too early dies a slow, painful death. Because deep tech either intersects with large, slow-moving industries or intends to create a market that doesn't exist today, investors spend significant time on market readiness. They want to know: who will pay for this? When will they be ready? What friction stands between enthusiasm and real deployment? A pre-revenue company may not have a polished GTM strategy, but it must have a grip on procurement cycles, regulatory constraints, competitive landscape, and integration challenges.

This is also why thinking sales early matters. Too many deep tech founders assume GTM is a “10 years from now” problem. In reality, early customers, even informal ones, become sandboxes: shaping design decisions, validating assumptions, and accelerating iteration.

Building global ambition into the company DNA

Deep tech founders must not stop at India’s borders. It’s time to build from India for the world. Deep tech provides the perfect window of opportunity. Investors increasingly look for two early indicators of long-term global viability. 

One, globally defensible IP. A patent in one geography rarely creates a moat. Investors look for IP portfolios designed to defend innovation in major global markets. Thoughtfulness behind building and filing IP trumps the number of filings: Is the IP broad enough? Future-proofed enough? Hard enough to design around?

Two, early signals of global GTM capability. Investors know that global deep tech success often hinges on access—to the right labs, customers, regulatory bodies, and industry partners. Founders who proactively build relationships with global advisors, strategic investors, or early champions stand out because they reduce uncertainty around market entry.

Choosing the right investors for your stage

Not every deep tech investor backs the same kind of risk. Some funds specialise in moonshot ideas at low TRL levels. Others focus on companies that already demonstrate early commercial readiness. Great founders map their investor pool with intention. A mismatch can lead to misaligned expectations, unnecessary pressure, or misinterpreted milestones.

Deep tech is capital-intensive, but investors expect founders to balance ambition with frugality. The goal is to be cautiously optimistic since timing the market can be an impossible art. Raise the right-sized round—enough to weather variable market cycles and hit meaningful derisking milestones. Think hard: why is capital needed? Where will it be deployed? How does it reduce technical or commercial risk? And what it unlocks for the next round.

Many first-time deep tech founders overestimate the value of secrecy. Investors increasingly prefer founders who build openly—sharing progress, engaging customers early, and refining their narrative. Stealth rarely protects innovation. Execution does. Similarly, avoid obsessing over IP protection at the cost of business building. IP is a tool, not a strategy.

What will still be novel four years from now?

Investors don’t evaluate novelty at the moment of the pitch. They evaluate novelty at the moment of commercialisation. Founders who think beyond “what is new today” and instead focus on “what will still be defensible four years out” demonstrate strategic maturity. Deep tech markets shift quickly. Keeping ears open for adjacent use cases, emerging markets, or unexpected consumers becomes essential, especially when the path to large-scale adoption is long.

One of the most underestimated traits investors look for is a calm, long-horizon mindset. Deep tech, particularly, demands years of experimentation, iteration, and rethinking. Investors look for grounded conviction—the ability to see the promise and appreciate the complexity of what’s being built. And when investors meet founders who marry scientific rigour with market insight, it balances the risk-reward perception. It feels less like a moonshot and more like a calibrated bet on the future.

(Agarwal is lead-investments at EquirusInnovateX Fund. Views are personal.)