2026人工智能与深度技术投资格局

AI & Deep TechInvestments Landscape A report from India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) 2026 A report from India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) Released at India AI Impact Summit 2026February 17, 2026New Delhi Disclaimer No reader should act on the basis of any statement contained herein without seeking professional advice.The authors and the firm expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person who has read this report, orotherwise, in respect of anything, and of consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done by any suchperson in reliance upon the contents of this report. Contents Foreword 1 The India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA):An Introduction 3 India’s Emerging Deep Tech Champions Section A – Report on Deep Tech and AI Investments Section B – Thought Leaders’ Forum Deep Tech Exits in India From Foundation to Flywheels: Designing the Last Mile of AI Regulationfor Market Creation, Not Market Control From Integration to Impact: Risk Management in Enterprise AI 101 The Patents Landscape in India’s Deep Tech Sector 113 Section C – Illustrative List of Companies 133 Section D – IDTA Members 141 Section E – Appendix147 Acknowledgements 173 Foreword Kris Gopalakrishnan,Chairman, Axilor Ventures; Co-Founder, Infosys India’s deep tech investment landscape has entered a period of sustained acceleration and growing globalrelevance. Since 2016, cumulative capital deployed into deep tech has reached approximately $28 billion,representing close to a four-fold increase over the decade, with deep tech now constituting nearly 15% ofoverall Private Equity and Venture Capital activity in the country. This expansion has been broad-based,spanning artificial intelligence, space technologies, semiconductors, energy systems, defence, and advancedmanufacturing. What is particularly encouraging is the consistency of this momentum across cycles,reflecting a structural re-rating of deep tech from a niche allocation to a core component of India’s innovationand growth engine. Public policy and sovereign capital are reinforcing this momentum in a decisive and confidence-buildingmanner. The establishment of the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund (₹1 lakh crore (approx.USD 12 billion) marks a landmark commitment to science and engineering-led growth. By providing patient,long-duration capital for research, translational development, and early commercialisation, the RDI Fundhelps address a long-standing gap in the innovation financing continuum that has constrained many deeptech ventures at the stage where technical risk remains high but commercial validation is still emerging.In doing so, it strengthens the foundation for innovation in sectors characterised by long gestation periodsand capital intensity, and signals India’s intent not only to generate innovation, but to systematically scale,deploy, and retain it within the country. This capital momentum must now be matched by a deeper and more sustained commitment to research.While India’s deep tech entrepreneurial base has visibly widened, the next phase of progress will dependon strengthening the quality, depth, and continuity of research across universities, public institutions,and industry laboratories. The rise in early-stage company formation across AI, life sciences, climatetechnologies, and advanced engineering reflects improving linkages between academia, corporate research,and entrepreneurship. At the same time, building globally competitive deep tech capabilities will requiregreater investment in foundational research, applied science, and long-horizon experimentation. Innovationis increasingly moving beyond software-centric problem solving toward hardware-linked and infrastructure- critical technologies, where success depends on rigorous testing, validation, and systems integration.Advancing this transition will require research capacity that is sustained well before ideas become products. As this ecosystem matures, the scale and structure of capital will become increasingly decisive. Deep techcompanies require significantly larger pools of long-horizon capital to support scale-up, manufacturingreadiness, regulatory navigation, and global market access. While early-stage activity has expandedmeaningfully, the transition from innovation to global leadership calls for sufficiently large specialist deeptech funds, with a focus on the growth stage. Building such funds is therefore not only a financial necessity,but a strategic one. In this context, the formation of theIndia Deep Tech Alliance(IDTA) is both timely and strategicallyimportant. IDTA represents a critical step toward building alignment across investors, policymakers,researchers, and entrepreneurs around a shared long-term vision for deep tech in India. By fosteringcollaboration, knowledge-sharing, and coordinated capital formation, IDTA has the potential to strengthenthe entire innovation stack—from early research and venture formation to growth-stage scaling and global m