Boosting India's Deep-Tech: Speciale Invest Closes ₹600 Crore Fund III

Speciale Invest Closes ₹600 Crore Fund III to Fuel India’s Deep-Tech Surge

Chennai-based deep-tech fund investor Speciale Invest has completed the oversubscribed close of its Fund III at ₹600 crore, exceeding the original ₹500 crore target. The newly closed Fund III will back 18 to 20 deep-tech ventures from 2025 to 2029, targeting sectors such as space tech, advanced manufacturing, energy, health, AI, sovereign tech, and globally scalable IP.

Speciale Invest will deploy the Fund III corpus between 2025 and 2029, with initial investments ranging from ₹7 crore to ₹10 crore per startup. The firm has allocated over 50% of the fund for follow-on rounds, ensuring long-term financial backing for high-potential companies.

The Fund’s Five Pillars

Fund III’s strategy is built on five pillars: supporting startups that strengthen India’s strategic autonomy in key industries, ensuring early global certification compliance, backing capital-efficient ventures, developing intellectual property in India for global markets, and building globally competitive businesses from Indian R&D

“We believe the next generation of global champions will emerge from India’s labs, R&D centers, and workshops. In a geopolitically complex and technologically interdependent world, building for India’s resilience and sovereign capabilities is not just a national imperative—it is also a generational venture opportunity,” said Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest.

About Speciale Invest

Founded in 2017 by and headquartered in Chennai, Speciale Invest is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to deep-tech, focusing on science-heavy, engineering-driven startups. It typically invests at the pre-seed and seed stages, often deploying amounts under ₹1 crore (under $1 million), and maintains a unique approach by reserving about half of its fund for follow-on rounds to support sustained growth.

Over the years, Speciale has invested in several high-impact companies, including Agnikul Cosmos (private space launch services), The ePlane Company (electric air taxis), GalaxEye (multi-sensor satellite imaging), Mindgrove Technologies (fabless semiconductor design), CynLr (robotics and visual intelligence systems), AI-based logistics startup CynLr, and Planys Technologies (underwater robotics for inspections).

India’s Deep-Tech Market

According to NASSCOM, as of 2024, India hosts over 3,000 deep-tech startups, with around 480 new ventures added annually. The sector is attracting increased venture capital interest, with deep-tech funding in India growing at a CAGR of over 40% between 2016 and 2023, even though it remains a smaller portion of overall startup funding compared to consumer tech or fintech. India’s strengths in R&D, a large pool of STEM graduates, supportive government policies such as the National Deep Tech Startup Policy (released in draft form in 2023), and global market access are driving the momentum.

Speciale Invest’s Fund III is focused on important areas like space, defence, energy, semiconductors and climate resilience. The goal is to back startups that can help India stay strong, solve big problems and grow into successful global businesses.