Key Takeaways
- • Aavishkaar Group plans to announce at least six investments in deeptech startups by 31 December, spanning technical textiles, deep agritech, tissue culture, materials science and spacetech, according to Mint.
- • Aavishkaar is targeting a ₹2,000-crore corpus, with founder and vice chairman Vineet Rai saying the fundraise launched last year and is expected to close between March and June.
- • Indian investors are expected to contribute 40-60% of the new corpus, a shift from the firm's previous reliance on foreign capital, which Rai attributes partly to rupee depreciation against the dollar.
- • Aavishkaar Group, with AUM of $1.2 billion, is expanding into deeptech through partnerships with Jamwant Ventures (₹500-crore defence and deeptech fund launched October 2025) and Riceberg Ventures.
Summary
Aavishkaar Group, the Mumbai-based impact-investing platform with $1.2 billion in assets under management, plans to announce at least six investments in deeptech startups by 31 December, according to Mint. The target sectors include technical textiles, deep agritech, tissue culture, materials science and spacetech. The group operates through several subsidiaries, including venture capital and impact-investing firm Aavishkaar Capital.
The group is also raising a ₹2,000-crore fund. Founder and vice chairman Vineet Rai said the general fundraising process launched last year and the group hopes to close between March and June. Rai said Indian investors are expected to contribute 40-60% of the new corpus, with the remainder from overseas investors. The firm previously sourced all its capital from foreign investors. Rai cited rupee depreciation against the dollar as a reason for raising capital domestically, arguing it can hedge currency risk because a weakening dollar reduces dollar-denominated returns.
The push comes as deeptech investment in India is rising. Mint reported in September that deeptech companies had raised $2.3 billion across just under 200 deals so far in 2026, according to Tracxn, compared with $1.62 billion across 453 deals in all of 2025. Rai said Aavishkaar has invested in technology and deeptech since 2003-04, citing its investment in Vortex Engineering, which developed low-cost ATMs for rural areas. He described AI as likely to affect more lives than anything the group has done so far, and said deeptech can reach more people at a fraction of the cost of physical engagement. Existing portfolio companies include Gnani.ai, an AI startup developing a speech-to-speech model under the IndiaAI Mission, a ₹10,372-crore government initiative; debt-relief platform Freed; precision metal-processing company Poshs Metal Industries; and climate-tech startup Newtrace.
To access deeptech expertise, Aavishkaar has entered partnerships. In October 2025 it partnered with Jamwant Ventures to launch a ₹500-crore venture capital fund focused on early and growth-stage defence and deeptech startups in India. Jamwant, founded by former Indian Navy officers and public sector veterans including commanders Navneet Kaushik and Kartik Gopal, targets seed and Series A investments of $1 million to $5 million. A second partnership is with Riceberg Ventures, a global early-stage deeptech venture capital firm founded in 2023, whose investments include EtherealX and Manastu Space. Rai described the arrangement as one in which Aavishkaar partners with fund managers rather than acting as co-GP, with the managers remaining the general partners.
The group is also raising a ₹2,000-crore fund. Founder and vice chairman Vineet Rai said the general fundraising process launched last year and the group hopes to close between March and June. Rai said Indian investors are expected to contribute 40-60% of the new corpus, with the remainder from overseas investors. The firm previously sourced all its capital from foreign investors. Rai cited rupee depreciation against the dollar as a reason for raising capital domestically, arguing it can hedge currency risk because a weakening dollar reduces dollar-denominated returns.
The push comes as deeptech investment in India is rising. Mint reported in September that deeptech companies had raised $2.3 billion across just under 200 deals so far in 2026, according to Tracxn, compared with $1.62 billion across 453 deals in all of 2025. Rai said Aavishkaar has invested in technology and deeptech since 2003-04, citing its investment in Vortex Engineering, which developed low-cost ATMs for rural areas. He described AI as likely to affect more lives than anything the group has done so far, and said deeptech can reach more people at a fraction of the cost of physical engagement. Existing portfolio companies include Gnani.ai, an AI startup developing a speech-to-speech model under the IndiaAI Mission, a ₹10,372-crore government initiative; debt-relief platform Freed; precision metal-processing company Poshs Metal Industries; and climate-tech startup Newtrace.
To access deeptech expertise, Aavishkaar has entered partnerships. In October 2025 it partnered with Jamwant Ventures to launch a ₹500-crore venture capital fund focused on early and growth-stage defence and deeptech startups in India. Jamwant, founded by former Indian Navy officers and public sector veterans including commanders Navneet Kaushik and Kartik Gopal, targets seed and Series A investments of $1 million to $5 million. A second partnership is with Riceberg Ventures, a global early-stage deeptech venture capital firm founded in 2023, whose investments include EtherealX and Manastu Space. Rai described the arrangement as one in which Aavishkaar partners with fund managers rather than acting as co-GP, with the managers remaining the general partners.
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