From Code to Core: How a $12 Billion Bet and a Tech Titan Alliance are Forging India’s Deep Tech Future 

India is strategically pivoting its startup ecosystem from software and services to foundational deep technology, a shift accelerated by a powerful alliance of U.S. and Indian investors—now including Nvidia as a technical adviser and Qualcomm Ventures as a capital partner—and backed by the government’s landmark $12 billion research and development fund.

This coalition aims to overcome the historic funding gap for high-risk, long-gestation ventures in semiconductors, AI, and space tech by providing not just capital but also vital mentorship and network access.

The collaboration represents a concerted public-private effort to de-risk deep tech innovation, with the ultimate goal of transforming India from a consumer of technology into a global creator and achieving technological sovereignty by fostering homegrown, science-first companies that can compete on the world stage.

From Code to Core: How a $12 Billion Bet and a Tech Titan Alliance are Forging India’s Deep Tech Future 

For over a decade, the story of India’s startup ecosystem has been one of brilliant adaptation. It was a tale of replicating successful Western business models, of building vast e-commerce platforms for a newly online population, and of creating a global army of SaaS companies serving international clients with efficient, low-cost software. This model produced over 120 unicorns and validated India’s place on the global tech map. 

But adaptation, while powerful, has its limits. Now, a profound and deliberate shift is underway. India is moving from building atop existing tech stacks to inventing the stacks themselves. The ambition is no longer just to code the next great app, but to design the semiconductors that power it, launch the satellites that connect it, and pioneer the AI models that drive it. 

This transition—from digital convenience to physical and foundational technology—is being supercharged by two powerful forces converging in late 2025: a historic, government-backed ₹1 trillion (roughly $12 billion) research and development fund and a groundbreaking coalition of top-tier U.S. and Indian investors, now bolstered by the strategic involvement of tech behemoths like Nvidia and Qualcomm. 

This isn’t just another funding announcement. It’s the signal of a new industrial strategy for the world’s fifth-largest economy. 

The Ambition and the Abyss: Why Deep Tech is Different 

The romantic notion of a startup garage doesn’t quite fit the deep tech world. Unlike a consumer app that can scale with server capacity, a deep tech company might spend five years and tens of millions of dollars simply to get a prototype of a new semiconductor, quantum computer, or advanced robotics system to work. The gestation period is long, the capital requirements are immense, and the risk of technical failure is high. 

This created a “valley of death” for Indian entrepreneurs aiming beyond software. Traditional venture capital, often structured around 7-10 year fund cycles and a focus on rapid scaling, has been hesitant to dive into these treacherous waters. Why bet on an unproven satellite component startup when you can fund another promising SaaS company with a clearer, faster path to revenue? 

“The capital for such ventures remains scarce,” the original report notes, pointing to the fundamental mismatch between the patience-deep tech requires and the returns-focused timeline of most VCs. 

This is the critical gap the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) was formed to bridge. Spearheaded in September by Celesta Capital, it began as a “coalition of the willing” with seven major firms like Accel and Premji Invest. The recent expansion is what turns a notable initiative into a potential powerhouse. 

The new alliance members aren’t just adding capital; they’re adding entire ecosystems. The inclusion of firms like Chiratae Ventures and Kalaari Capital, stalwarts of India’s earlier startup waves, signifies that deep tech is now a mainstream, not niche, priority. But the most telling participants are Nvidia and Qualcomm. 

The Nvidia and Qualcomm Gambit: More Than Money 

The roles these two tech giants are playing are distinct and strategically revealing. 

Nvidia has joined as a strategic technical adviser, without any direct financial commitment. On the surface, this might seem like a less significant contribution. In reality, it’s a masterstroke of validation and enablement. 

In the global AI race, Nvidia’s hardware and software platforms have become the foundational layer. By offering Indian deep tech startups guidance on integrating its technology, access to its Deep Learning Institute, and a direct line to its technical experts, Nvidia is effectively seeding its own ecosystem. It ensures that the next generation of Indian AI, robotics, and quantum companies are built on, and optimized for, Nvidia architecture. For a startup, this technical mentorship is arguably more valuable than a small check; it’s a shortcut to world-class engineering best practices. 

As Sriram Viswanathan of Celesta Capital put it, “Nvidia’s support is a pretty significant validation of the ecosystem… an endorsement of our collective objective.” 

Qualcomm Ventures, on the other hand, is in with both feet, bringing capital and its vast network. Its history in India—with early bets on now-public companies like MapmyIndia and IdeaForge—proves a long-term commitment. Managing Director Rama Bethmangalkar highlighted the collaborative spirit: “If you are like-minded and other VCs have allocated a certain portion of their resources, dollars, time, and network, it helps each other.” 

Qualcomm’s involvement means a semiconductor startup won’t just get funding; it might get an introduction to a potential manufacturing partner or a lead enterprise customer within Qualcomm’s global network. This “smart capital” is the lifeblood of deep tech, where connections are as crucial as cash. 

The Government’s Hand: The ₹1 Trillion RDI Catalyst 

A private-sector alliance of this scale doesn’t form in a vacuum. It’s a direct response to and in anticipation of a massive public-sector push. 

The Indian government’s ₹1 trillion Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme is the other half of this equation. Approved by the cabinet and rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this isn’t a grant-giving program in the traditional sense. It’s a flexible war chest designed to de-risk the very projects VCs have historically feared. It will provide long-term loans, equity infusions, and allocations to deep tech “funds of funds.” 

This changes the entire risk-reward calculus for the IDTA members. The government is acting as a strategic limited partner, absorbing the extreme early-stage risk and enabling private VCs to come in at a later, de-risked stage. This public-private partnership model is a page taken from the playbooks of other tech-sovereign nations, and its implementation in India is being closely watched. 

Viswanathan called this a “seminal moment,” where “the Indian government’s action will drive creation and the formation of many of these deep tech companies.” 

The Road Ahead: Challenges and the Need for Role Models 

For all the promise, the IDTA is not a magic wand. It is, as Viswanathan admits, a “loose coalition.” There is no central fund or mandatory investment pool. Each firm will still make its own decisions. The $1.85 billion+ figure is an estimate of collective commitment, not a locked-in fund size. Success will depend on sustained collaboration and a shared definition of what constitutes a “win.” 

The ultimate challenge is time. Deep tech cycles are measured in decades, not fiscal quarters. The alliance members and the government must demonstrate patience that has often been in short supply in the fast-moving world of tech investing. 

But the most critical ingredient for success, as identified by Qualcomm’s Bethmangalkar, is the emergence of role models. 

India’s SaaS boom was fueled by the outsized success of companies like Freshworks and Zoho, which proved to a generation of engineers that it was possible to build a world-class, product-led company from India. The deep tech ecosystem desperately needs its own equivalent—a homegrown company that designs a critical semiconductor, a revolutionary satellite communication system, or a globally competitive humanoid robot, and achieves a massive IPO or acquisition. 

“What we need are role models to begin with,” Bethmangalkar stated. “People are going to jump in. Entrepreneurs are going to get the confidence capital… In ten years, you’ll start seeing these as the companies listed on the main boards of our exchanges — deeply science- and tech-oriented firms.” 

This is the true vision. It’s a future where India is not just a nation of talented coders, but a nation of core innovators. The alliance of capital, the government’s financial backing, and the technical might of Nvidia and Qualcomm have laid the foundation. Now, the world waits for the builders to arrive.