The Startup and Investor Roundtable with Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Shri Piyush Goyal

For decades, India's startup ecosystem focused on application-layer software, SaaS, and consumer businesses. However, the past five years have ushered in a quiet shift: Indian startups are now building core technologies – from semiconductor designs to indigenous drones, AI medical devices, launch vehicles, and quantum computing platforms. These are strategic ventures operating at the intersection of science, engineering, and national interest. Unlike the era of frugal hacks, the DeepTech wave is IP-first – with patent portfolios, design-led defensibility, and export ambitions embedded from day one. This fundamentally changes how investors must assess value – not by revenue multiples alone, but by the strength of the tech moat and its ability to scale globally over time.

In November 2025, this transformation took centre stage when Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, convened a landmark roundtable with 35+ DeepTech and semiconductor companies alongside India's leading venture capital firms in Bengaluru. 

The session brought together founders building across semiconductor design, AI infrastructure, quantum computing, robotics, advanced materials, and ML systems. What emerged wasn't just another policy discussion – it was a structured commitment to remove the friction that has kept patient capital and frontier innovation from reaching escape velocity in India. ‍

The session was jointly hosted by 3one4 Capital, TiE Bangalore, and other supporting ecosystem partners from Bangalore.

India already hosts the world's third-largest startup ecosystem with $136 billion deployed since 2014 and 120+ unicorns created. The $260 billion IT services industry has trained two generations of world-class engineering talent. What's been missing is policy and infrastructure: regulatory clarity, patient capital structures, and commercialisation pathways that support long development cycles.

The government is now mobilising at scale. Recent initiatives include ₹76,000 crore for semiconductor manufacturing, ₹1 lakh crore in 50-year interest-free RDI loans for sunrise sectors, ₹6,000 crore for the National Quantum Mission, ₹20,000 crore for the National Nuclear Energy Mission, and ISRO's IN-SPACe framework that's already enabled 200+ space startups. What was once confined to government institutions like DRDO and ISRO is now emerging from private R&D labs, campuses, and startup incubators – decentralised, entrepreneur-led, and built for global scale. ‍

The Founders’ View

The roundtable brought together founders from Agnit Semiconductors, Aereo, Nabhdrishti Aerospace, EtherealX, Fabheads, Ethereal Machines, Dozee, Exponent Energy, SignalChip Innovations, QNu Labs, and several other deep tech startups. Their constraints were specific:

·  Extending Startup India recognition for DeepTech beyond the current ten-year limit

·  Clarity around grant accounting

·  FCRA constraints in R&D funding

·  DSIR registration hurdles

·  Customs green-channels to facilitate faster cross-border movement of critical equipment

·  Tax and regulatory frameworks that better reflect the cost and timelines of frontier innovation

These aren't abstract policy asks. They're the difference between raising capital efficiently or spending 18 months navigating compliance instead of building technology.

Shri Piyush Goyal's response was immediate. His office initiated an execution framework where  DPIIT, Startup India, TiE Bangalore, and IVCA will work with the DeepTech ecosystem through a structured engagement mechanism to document these challenges, review progress, and convert requests into policy measures. 

This collaboration is positioned to create clearer pathways for R&D funding, improve regulatory predictability, and accelerate the development of companies that anchor India’s technological aspirations.

What Investors Said

At 3one4 Capital, Chairman T. V. Mohandas Pai and Founding Partners Pranav Pai and Siddarth Pai represented our perspective at the roundtable. The investor cohort, which included Celesta Capital, Avaana Capital, Peak XV, Accel, Premji Invest, and Creagis, amongst many others, emphasised that DeepTech success requires regulatory predictability, multi-year capital structures, safe harbour provisions, and defensible IP.

Traditional valuation frameworks focused on EBITDA or user metrics don't work for ventures that build enduring IP over extended timelines. The market needs different approaches: integrating Technology Readiness Levels into diligence, structuring funds for 12-15 year holds, pricing IP moats appropriately in exits, and channeling domestic institutional capital toward frontier technologies.

The top 25% of Indian VC funds are already delivering superior returns comparable to China’s early trajectory. Global pension and sovereign funds from Canada, Singapore, the MEA, and the US are deploying billions into India. DeepTech is the natural extension of this momentum—if the structural pieces align. ‍

Proof of What's Possible

When patient capital, engineering depth, and market needs align, Indian DeepTech companies are proving globally competitive.

• ePlane has secured export orders for aerial vehicles.
• Dozee has partnered with hospitals in the US and Africa for AI-powered patient monitoring.
• Agnit Semiconductors is developing proprietary gallium-based devices for global markets.  
• Unbox Robotics operates autonomous sortation systems across warehouses in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Turkey, the UK, the US, and India – processing millions of packages for Inditex, DHL, Flipkart, Myntra, and Adidas. The company has achieved profitability within 4 years of its GTM.
• Exponent Energy has crafted multi-year OEM contracts for its commercial vehicle fast charging technology, and will deliver over $100M of systems and components by 2027.

India's geopolitical positioning and strategic partnerships with the Quad and G7 nations are creating new opportunities for collaboration, technology exchange, and joint procurement that strengthen Indian DeepTech's global competitiveness.

The Path Forward

India will be one of only three countries – alongside the US and China – to exceed $20 trillion GDP by 2050. That trajectory requires defensible technological capability: semiconductor self-sufficiency, quantum encryption, autonomous logistics, advanced manufacturing, and AI systems built for India's constraints but scaled globally.

The consumer internet + fintech wave created $500+ billion in value and 120 unicorns. DeepTech represents a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity if India builds the institutional substrate to support it.

The Bengaluru roundtable marked an inflection point – not because of what was discussed, but because of what was committed. DPIIT's structured engagement mechanism gives this momentum institutional permanence. Government, founders, and investors are converging on the same execution agenda: reduce regulatory friction, extend capital timelines, and build exit pathways that reward defensible IP.

Several of these suggestions have already been operationalised into policy, with more consultations over 2026 expected to incorporate industry requests into actionable policy.

For investors, this is the generational opportunity. For founders, this is the moment to build with conviction. For India, this is how we secure technological sovereignty for the decades ahead.

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_{The views expressed herein are those of the author as of the publication date and are subject to change without notice. Neither the author nor any of the entities under the 3one4 Capital Group have any obligation to update the content. This publications are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as providing any advisory service (including financial, regulatory, or legal). It does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities or related financial instruments in any jurisdiction. Readers should perform their own due diligence and consult with relevant advisors before taking any decisions. Any reliance on the information herein is at the reader's own risk, and 3one4 Capital Group assumes no liability for any such reliance.Certain information is based on third-party sources believed to be reliable, but neither the author nor 3one4 Capital Group guarantees its accuracy, recency or completeness. There has been no independent verification of such information or the assumptions on which such information is based, unless expressly mentioned otherwise. References to specific companies, securities, or investment strategies are not endorsements. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or use of this document, in whole or in part, is prohibited without prior written consent from the author and/or the 3one4 Capital Group.}