U.S. and Indian VCs just formed a $1B+ alliance to fund India’s deep tech startups

Summary

Eight U.S. and Indian venture capital and private equity firms — including storied investors Accel, Blume Ventures, Celesta Capital, and Premji Invest — have formed an unusual coalition to back India’s deep tech startups, pledging more than $1 billion over the next decade to strengthen U.S.-India tech ties. The alliance addresses longstanding funding concerns. In April, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal drew criticism after slamming domestic startups for focusing on food delivery instead of innovation, contrasting them with Chinese firms in a presentation titled “India vs. China: The Startup Reality Check.” Several investors and founders countered that India lacks capital for deep tech ventures and said Goyal’s comments overlooked the determination of founders building for the local market. The new alliance appears to address these concerns, aiming to channel long-term private capital into deep tech ventures that many founders say have struggled to secure funding in India. The move stands out because investors typically compete for deals rather than formally band together under a named alliance with binding pledges. While VCs often co-invest on a deal-by-deal basis, most cross-border collaboration occurs informally through individual fund strategies, rather than through coordinated capital blocs. Called the India Deep Tech Investment Alliance, the group brings together Celesta Capital, Accel, Blume Ventures, Gaja Capital, Ideaspring Capital, Premji Invest, Tenacity Ventures, and Venture Catalysts, the firms said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The launch follows the Indian government’s approval of a ₹1 trillion (approximately $11 billion) Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) scheme, announced in the national budget earlier this year to boost deep tech R&D. Under the alliance, each member will commit private capital over a 5- to 10-year period to Indian-domiciled deep tech startups, the firms said. For now, there are relatively few such companies, as many...