The Startup Policy Forum (SPF) has launched its Centre for DeepTech Innovation, 'DeepVerse' to accelerate India's deeptech ecosystem through cross-sector collaboration, policy dialogue, and research. According to reports from CNBC TV18, the platform will span ten focus sub-sectors including Biotech, Quantum Tech, Semiconductors, Drones, Spacetech, Defence Tech, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics, and Cleantech & Energy. As per the latest reports, DeepVerse will also have an advisory board comprising investors, founders, policymakers, academics, and global technology leaders to provide strategic guidance for the initiative.
Welcoming the move, Secretary with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY) S. Krishnan stressed on the need for a strong, multi-stakeholder approach to grow India's deeptech ecosystem. As reported by CNBC TV18, DeepVerse aims to bring together members across three tiers - Deep Core, Deep Circle and Patrons - to contribute industry insights to policy consultations and drive its initiatives. According to the latest reports, DeepVerse will also release a report outlining policy actionables across the 10 sectors, giving deeptech companies a sustained voice in policymaking, particularly as such businesses typically require longer development cycles and significant capital.
The Deep Core tier includes established players such as Accel, Airbound, Ather Energy, Avaana Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Cars24, Crane Ventures, Dayananda Sagar University, Digantara, Endiya Partners, Intel, Iron Pillar, Lightspeed, Speciale Invest, and Stride Asset Management. According to the SPF release, these members participated in in-depth dialogues with founders on regulation, access to capital, talent, and global expansion during recent sessions. The advisory board includes Ather Energy co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta, Airbound founder and CEO Naman Pushp, Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Chandana, and Digantara founder and CEO Anirudh Sharma. Investor members include Prashanth Prakash (Accel India), Anjali Bansal (Avaana Capital), Pankaj Mitra (Bessemer Venture Partners), Anandamoy Roychowdhary (Crane Ventures), Sateesh Andra (Endiya Partners), Anand Prasanna (Iron Pillar), and Hemant Mohapatra (Lightspeed).
The Deep Circle tier comprises Alteon, Aspera, Beenext, Gabit, General Autonomy, Meta, Newtrace, Pronto, River and Yulu. As reported by CNBC TV18, the Patrons tier includes CarDekho Group, Global Education Lab, Sarvam, Scaler and SQ1. The SPF indicated that 'DeepVerse gives this work a permanent home' through its structured approach to deeptech ecosystem development. The policy, academia and global technology group includes MeitY Startup Hub CEO Dr. Panneerselvam Madanagopal, Chief Policy Adviser at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser Dr. B. Chagun Basha, Kohli, Dayananda Sagar University Pro-Chancellor Dr. D. Premachandra Sagar and Intel India Director of Ecosystem and Industry Aditi Nanda.
The launch comes amid a significant rise in capital in the deeptech sector. According to data platform Tracxn, investment in the deeptech space increased from $348 million in 2020 to $2.55 billion in 2026 year to date. However, India lags compared with the US where deeptech funding increased from $46.8 billion in 2020 to $365 billion over the same period. As reported by Mint, the India Deeptech Alliance (IDTA) plans to push for reforms to government procurement rules to help deeptech startups secure public sector contracts and scale their technologies. Arun Kumar, chairman of IDTA, emphasized that "procurement is an area where the right structures and processes can really help" and noted the need to "help startups, give them a little bit of an edge to be able to prove themselves."
