India Tech Report – India Tech Report

(00:00) Just the headlines, if you only have a minute (01:26) The Polsky Center selects 20 Indian startups for first accelerator The University of Chicago’s Polsky Center has named 20 startups to the first cohort of its India Deep Tech Accelerator, a global programme for IIT-affiliated ventures. The 10-week accelerator is designed to help founders […]

Coming up on Tuesday, 19th May, Anoop Srikantaswamy, founder and CEO of Moonrider, a electric tractor startup on Bengaluru, talks about a range of topics — from product innovation to reducing dependence on China to what tractors will be like in the future as they go autonomous. Catch the full conversation right here or wherever […]

Eka Robotics has emerged from stealth with a Vision-Force-Action model that it says can push robots beyond the long-standing trade-off between generality and speed in manipulation tasks. The Cambridge, Massachusetts startup was co-founded in 2025 by MIT’s Pulkit Agrawal and former DeepMind researcher Tuomas Haarnoja. The deep tech entrepreneurs are pitching force sensing and simulation […]

In this episode, Stuti Kakkar, co-founder of MEINE Electric, a battery energy storage tech startup, unpacks the government’s proposed Approved List of Battery Manufacturers (ALBM) that is reportedly in the works as part of its ambitious $38 billion push to deploy 47 gigawatts of battery storage. Similar to the solar industry’s ALMM framework, this list […]

Ati Motors has renamed itself Ati Robotics to better reflect its evolution into a “material orchestration” specialist, the Bengaluru-based provider of autonomous mobile robots said in a recent press release. The Indian robotics company is moving to win an early lead in this industry-wide shift: the world’s biggest manufacturers, including some of Ati’s customers, are […]

The transition to a low-carbon economy is often framed as a struggle resulting from a combination of engineering challenges and lack of political willpower. A new vision paper argues that the true bottleneck is an information deficit. The Climate and Sustainability Data Exchange (CSDX), a proposed universal digital infrastructure, seeks to move beyond “siloed, project-level […]

(00:22) Microsoft clarifies stance on carbon credits purchases Microsoft issued a clarification after reports earlier this month that it had informed carbon credit developers of a temporary halt in new purchases. That news, reported first by Heatmap News, had caused immediate ripples in the carbon removal sector, as Microsoft has been the market’s dominant force, […]

In this episode, I catch up with Saurabh Chandra, founder and CEO at Ati Motors, to discuss his views on how factory automation is evolving in the era of physical AI, as robots finally begin to “break out of the yellow cages” of safety zones. Ati Motors makes autonomous mobile robots for materials movement in […]

The idea of a “lights out” factory or a “dark factory” is decades old. Engineers dreamed of fully automated installations where robots and machines took over — without human intervention — and made useful things for us. Cars, for example. But a combination of both technical challenges and real-world non-engineering problems ensured that such factories […]

In this episode, we explore the rapidly evolving world of physical intelligence with Arjun Dutt, a Partner at Bain & Company and former entrepreneur. As generative AI transitions from digital interfaces into the physical world, Arjun explains why humanoid robots are emerging as a solution to the worsening labour shortages, especially in the so-called ‘brownfield’ […]

In today’s episode, we dive into the future of robotics with Gokul NA, founder of CynLr, or Cybernetics Laboratory, perhaps one of India’s most advanced companies in this field. CynLr is headquartered in Bengaluru, with an advanced R&D Lab in Switzerland and a growing customer-facing operation in the US, where Gokul’s fellow founder Nikhil Ramaswamy […]

In this episode I’m joined by Apoorv Shaligram, founder and CEO of e-TRNL Energy. Apoorv, and his fellow founder Uttam Sen, IIT Bombay alumni both, and their team are tackling the electric vehicle industry’s most critical “wants”: high levels of safety and fast charging. While battery chemistry has attracted a lot of innovation effort, e-TRNL […]

So, this morning, I drove up to the new office that Apoorv Shaligram and Uttam Kumar Sen and their team at e-TRNL Energy have set up – still being given some final touches before a formal inauguration soon. Sat down with Apoorv to record the next episode of Conversations. And it’s always an awesome experience […]

MEINE Electric is an Indian deep-tech startup in Chennai, developing iron-air battery systems designed for long-duration energy storage of 16 to 24 hours. Founders Priyansh Mohan and Stuti Kakar hope that these batteries will help accelerate India’s transition to net zero carbon emissions. They use a process of controlled reversible rusting to create a cost-effective, […]

In this episode, I’m joined by Priyansh Mohan and Stuti Kakkar, school friends turned co-founders at MEINE Electric, to talk about their innovations in developing iron-air battery energy storage systems (BESS) for long duration energy storage (LDES). Renewable energy in India faces a fundamental problem of timing. Solar panels and wind turbines produce electricity when […]

Renewable energy in India faces a fundamental problem of timing. Solar panels and wind turbines produce electricity when nature dictates, not necessarily when industrial factories require it. For the green transition to succeed, power must be stored for the long hours when the sun is down or the wind is still. While lithium-ion batteries serve […]

Today I’m joined by Jay Panchal, founder and CEO of Aule Space, in Bengaluru. Jay started the company in 2024 with his fellow founders Nithyaa Giri, who’s Aule’s CTO, and Hrishit Tambi, its COO. He talks about their efforts so far to develop “jetpacks” – sophisticated Mission Extension Vehicles (MEVs) designed for the task of […]

Coming up on Tuesday, Feb. 3For my next episode of Conversations at India Tech Report, I sat down with Jay Panchal, the young Founder and CEO at Aule Space. Jay and his fellow founders Nithyaa Giri and Hrishit Tambi have raised pre-seed funding for Aule to build autonomous “jetpack” satellites that can dock with spacecraft […]

In this episode, I’m joined by Manish Singhal, founding partner of pi Ventures, a Bengaluru-based early-stage venture capital firm backing some of India’s most ambitious deep tech startups. India’s start-up story is often told through software and services. Yet a quieter transformation is under way in laboratories, machine shops and clean rooms. And Manish has […]

Coming up on Tuesday, Jan. 27. For my next conversation, I sat down with Manish Singhal, founding partner at pi Ventures, one of the earliest bona fide deep tech investors in India. pi Ventures turns 10 is a couple of months.Before pi, Manish, an IIT Kanpur alumnus with over two decades of operating experience, built […]

Two space-tech startups kicked off 2026’s funding news for the sector in India, aiming to expand India’s presence in the global space economy in two challenging areas. And they’ve both found backing from top-notch investors. Ethereal Exploration Guild (EtherealX) and Aule Space Technologies revealed a Series A and a pre-seed-stage investment respectively, in separate announcements, […]

What are some of the practical, seemingly small but truly challenging engineering problems in translating what seems intuitive to humans to robotics automation, today? Mrutyunjaya N, Raviteja Chivukala and Jagga Raju N, founders of Perceptyne Robots, explain here in simple terms in just a few minutes.

In this year’s first episode, I’m joined by Mrutyunjaya N, Raviteja Chivukala and Jagga Raju N to unpack why and how they started Perceptyne Robots, and what it takes to build an AI-native robotic system out of India. Perceptyne is a Hyderabad-based company building dexterous, dual-arm, intelligent robots for industrial automation, currently focused on automotive and electronics manufacturing lines. […]

Happy new year to all of you deep tech enthusiasts in India. An area in which 2026 is already shaping up to be one that will likely see advances, is robotics and automation and the AI needed for this, being called physical AI or even ’embodied AI’. If you caught Boston Dynamics CSO Marc Theermann […]

(00:20) Mobile robots market to nearly double by 2030 Global demand for mobile robots is set to surge, with the market projected to grow from $27.39 billion in 2025 to $52.11 billion by 2030, driven by AI, 5G, e-commerce, and labour shortages, while Asia-Pacific leads adoption and high costs, regulatory hurdles, and integration challenges remain […]

(00:21) China’s Zhuque-3 reaches orbit but crashes on landing Chinese rocketmaker Landspace’s stainless steel, methalox-fuelled Zhuque-3 reached orbit on its debut flight from Jiuquan, successfully deploying its expendable second stage before the reusable first stage failed during landing and exploded near the target zone. The company said the test still met key recovery objectives and […]

(00:20) IVCA forum urges more domestic capital for deep tech The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association hosted its Domestic Institutional Investors & Exits Forum 2025 in New Delhi, spotlighting the role of local capital in deep tech and biotech. An MoU between IVCA and BIRAC aims to boost capacity building and investment awareness, as […]

(00:20) DST’s RDI Fund outreach programme in Bengaluru tomorrow The Department of Science and Technology is inviting fund managers, industry leaders, and startup founders to join its officials to discuss the Government of India’s R&D and Innovation Fund, Secretary to the GoI Abhay Karandikar said in a post on LinkedIn. This outreach programme is to […]

(00:20) India to invest Rs. 4,500 crore to modernise SCL Mohali India will invest Rs. 4,500 crore to modernise and expand the government-run Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, targeting a 100-fold increase in wafer production while ruling out privatisation, Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a site visit. SCL will support chip fabrication […]

In today’s episode, I bring you a conversation with Sunil Cavale at Speciale Invest and Vishal Katariya at Ankur Capital, both VC firms well known as early-stage backers of deep tech startups in India. Vishal and Sunil discuss their recent report on the Semiconductor Startup Landscape in India. India’s chip industry has made significant strides […]

CrisprBits, a Bengaluru biotech startup, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round to scale its CRISPR-based diagnostics and gene-editing platforms, lifting its valuation to $12 million. The company plans to use the money to commercialize its PathCrisp molecular diagnostics line and build an AI-augmented strain engineering platform for industrial biofuels. The round was […]

(00:20) Google, Accel to co-invest in Indian AI startups Google and Accel will co-invest in at least 10 early-stage Indian AI startups through a new partnership between Google’s AI Futures Fund and Accel’s Atoms programme, with up to 2 million dollars available per company. The tie-up, based in Bengaluru, is Google’s first such funding collaboration […]

Coming up on Friday, Nov. 28. How’s India’s semiconductor product startup landscape changing. In the next episode of Conversations at India Tech Report, Sunil Cavale at Speciale Invest and Vishal Kataria at Ankur Capital discuss the second edition of their report on this very subject. Catch the full conversation right here or wherever you get […]

(00:20) Swiss quantum startup shrinks cooling systems for scalable processors YQuantum has raised CHF 150,000 ($186,000) from Venture Kick to commercialize miniaturized cryogenic hardware for quantum computers. The startup’s compact components address a critical bottleneck: scaling superconducting qubits reliably. By replacing bulky cooling systems with high-performance alternatives, YQuantum brings quantum computing closer to practical deployment. […]

(00:20) India calls joint crediting mechanism a model for equitable climate action At UNFCCC COP30 in Brazil, India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) is crucial for scalable, technology-driven climate solutions. India-Japan cooperation under JCM will mobilise investments, deploy low-carbon technologies, and build capacity, supporting national climate goals and Article 6 […]

(00:21) Karnataka unveils India’s first Quantum City plan, space policy Karnataka launched India’s first Quantum City blueprint at the Bengaluru Tech Summit this week, with a plan to create a Rs. 1,000 crore integrated quantum cluster in Hesaraghatta. The project targets global leadership in quantum research, chip manufacturing, and talent export, with dedicated parks, startup […]

(00:21) Princeton’s qubit breakthrough extends coherence threefoldPrinceton University researchers have demonstrated a quantum qubit with coherence times exceeding one millisecond — triple the laboratory record and fifteen times the industry standard, Science Daily reports. The team built a functioning quantum chip proving the design supports error correction at scale, addressing the fundamental challenge limiting quantum […]

(00:21) SIDBI hits first close of Antariksh, India’s largest space fund SIDBI Venture Capital announced the first close of its Antariksh fund at Rs 1,005 crore, anchored by a Rs 1,000 crore commitment from IN-SPACe, Times of India reports. Registered as a Category II alternative investment fund with a decade-long tenure, it represents India’s largest […]

In this episode, I’m joined by Simmi Sareen and Shravan Shankar, co-founders of Climake, a climate finance platform and advisory, to talk about their fifth annual report on the state of climate finance in India – 2025 edition. In 2024, equity capital deployed reached $9.4 billion, about double from the previous year, with public markets […]

Coming up, in the next episode of India Tech Report: In Conversation, Simmi Sareen and Shravan Shankar at Climake discuss their State of Climate Finance in India 2025 report. Catch the full conversation tomorrow right here, or wherever you get your podcasts.Meanwhile, here’s a 90-second view point on how there are sectors and companies that […]

Catch the full conversation on Friday, Nov. 14 right here or wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s a one-minute preview. Climake https://www.climake.co

News, views, and conversations with founders, investors, industry leaders and other stakeholders building India’s deep tech and climate tech ecosystems. In this episode I bring you a lightly edited version of a speech made by Dr. S. Somanath, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Dr. Somanath was speaking at the VC firm […]

News, views, and conversations with founders, investors, industry leaders and other stakeholders building India’s deep tech and climate tech ecosystems. Nvidia, Qualcomm join alliance to mentor Indian deep tech startups Nvidia has joined the $2 billion India Deep Tech Alliance as a founding member, pledging mentorship and advanced training to support local AI, semiconductor, and […]

In today’s episode, Neil Shah, co-founder and vice president at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, gives us a quick take on Intel’s new Panther Lake processor and its potential use cases in robotics and physical AI. Intel’s new Panther Lake SoC marks a defining turn in the company’s roadmap toward robotics-ready edge computing. In this quick-take […]

In today’s episode, Ganapathy ‘Gani’ Subramaniam, founding managing partner of Yali Capital, a deep-tech VC firm in Bengaluru, joins me for Part 2 of our discussion on the firm’s debut deep-tech fund. In this conversation, we picked up with Yali’s investment in Perceptyne, a company developing humanoid robotics for manufacturing and eventually physical AI applications. […]

In this episode, Bhaktha Ram Keshavachar, founder and CEO of Chara Technologies, talks about a new funding round at his startup. Chara, based in Bengaluru, specializes in building rare earth-free motors and matching controllers. That China, which has a near monopoly on the supply chain of rare earth minerals, has intensified its restrictions on their […]

Daily brief on deep tech and climate tech news from India and around the world. IFC proposes $6M equity investment in African Catalyst Fund The International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to invest up to $6 million in Catalyst Fund, which is targeting a corpus of $40 million for early-stage climate-tech startups across Africa, Africa Private […]

Coming up on Wednesday, Oct. 15 The importance frugal engineering, diverse co-founder teams, and strong customer focus for deep tech startups. In Part 2 of my conversation with Ganapathy Subramaniam, founding managing partner at Yali Capital, in which Gani discusses his firm’s focus on deep tech and semiconductor startups in India. We picked up from […]

Daily brief on deep tech and climate tech news from India and around the world. China tightens rare earth export controls China has expanded its restrictions on rare earth exports to safeguard national security and interests, a move seen as Beijing strengthening its leverage in trade talks with the US. The new rules add five […]

Daily brief on deep tech and climate tech news from India and around the world. ABB sells robotics unit to SoftBank for $5.375 billion ABB has announced it will divest its Robotics division to SoftBank Group for $5.375 billion, a decision made as an alternative to spinning off the business, the company said in a […]