Deeptech is giving rise to new kinds of founders and bold ideas: VCs

Deeptech generally means technology built on advanced science, engineering, or difficult technical research. Unlike many consumer startups, it is not simply a new app, marketplace, or software feature. It often addresses complex industrial or national needs, including critical technologies. That makes deeptech important for innovation and self-reliance.

The panel gave an India-based radiator company as one example. It supplies products across the globe, showing how a focused industrial capability can become internationally competitive. The discussion also identified AI and data centres as deeptech areas, while noting that India may not yet match the United States or China there.

Deeptech founders therefore need to identify narrow areas where they have real expertise. The traditional method of quickly creating and launching products may not work. Instead, founders must build solutions around specialized capabilities and ecosystem gaps. Investors expect more innovation as early capital becomes less of a barrier.

Indian deeptech founders are developing products and capabilities in specialized niches rather than copying broad consumer offerings. The investors highlighted opportunities linked to critical technologies, AI, data centres, and industrial products. These capabilities matter because geopolitical changes have increased the value of technologies that countries can develop and control themselves.

Anirudh Singh cited an India-based radiator company that supplies its products around the world. This example shows the mechanism clearly: a founder can identify a narrow technical gap, build strong expertise around it, and turn that capability into a globally useful product. The panel also pointed to India’s available talent as an advantage.

The opportunity is not identical across every field. Singh said India would find it challenging to match the United States and China in AI and data-centre capabilities. The panel’s advice was to focus on niches where founders possess genuine expertise and build solutions around those strengths.

The investors believe the current opportunity window for deeptech entrepreneurs will remain open for eight to 10 years. Mayuresh Raut, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Seafund, gave this estimate during the TechSparks 2026 panel. The figure frames deeptech as a time-sensitive opportunity rather than an unlimited market.

Raut said the ecosystem still contains numerous gaps across multiple areas. The key mechanism for founders is to identify one of those gaps and develop the right product for it. This approach favors focused technical problem-solving over broad, conventional product creation. It also supports the panel’s view that founders should work from their specialized expertise.

The window creates opportunities for both entrepreneurs and investors. Abhishek Srivastava said self-reliance in critical technologies could become a bigger opportunity as India shapes up for the next few decades. The panel expects more bold ideas and innovation, with early capital becoming less likely to hold founders back.

The geopolitical environment has increased pressure on countries to become self-reliant in critical technologies. When international conditions are uncertain, dependence on outside capabilities can create strategic and economic vulnerability. The panel therefore connected geopolitical change directly to new opportunities for Indian founders and investors.

Abhishek Srivastava of Kae Capital said the current geopolitical situation makes self-reliance in critical technologies important. His point was not limited to one product category. It applies across areas where India has gaps and where founders can build domestic solutions. Those solutions can also serve wider markets when Indian companies develop strong capabilities.

This shift could expand deeptech investing in India. Srivastava described it as a bigger opportunity for investors and founders as the country shapes up for the next few decades. The panel urged entrepreneurs to find niches where they have expertise, then build products that address important technology needs rather than following traditional product-launch methods.

India’s main advantage, according to the panel, is the availability of talent. This gives founders a base for developing specialized technologies and addressing gaps in the deeptech ecosystem. Talent can support both technical product development and the creation of companies focused on self-reliant critical technologies.

Anirudh Singh offered a practical example: an India-based radiator company is supplying products across the globe. That case shows how focused engineering capability can produce a product with international demand. It also illustrates why founders should identify niches where they have expertise instead of trying to compete everywhere at once.

India does not lead in every deeptech category. Singh said matching the capabilities of the United States and China in AI and data centres will be very challenging. The forward path is therefore selective. Indian founders can use talent to build strong positions in specific niches, while investors support bold ideas and longer efforts.

Deeptech product building starts with a difficult technical opportunity, not simply with a familiar product format or rapid launch. The panel said founders must identify niches where they have expertise and build solutions around them. This matters because deeptech addresses specialized capabilities and critical technologies, where shallow imitation is unlikely to be enough.

The radiator company example shows the approach. It developed a focused industrial product and now supplies it across the globe. The key mechanism is specialization: founders find a gap, apply deep expertise, and create a solution that can work beyond the domestic market. The panel also pointed to gaps across several parts of the ecosystem.

The investors said the traditional manner of creating products will no longer work for these founders. Instead, entrepreneurs must pursue bold ideas tied to real technical strengths. This may open more opportunities as India seeks self-reliance and early capital becomes less likely to hold innovation back.

Deeptech startups work on specialized capabilities and critical technologies, rather than only quick consumer products. That makes the entrepreneurial journey demanding. The article describes being a startup founder as one of the most arduous undertakings a person can undertake. Patient investors matter because founders need room to keep developing solutions when progress is difficult.

Mayuresh Raut said founders repeatedly show up despite receiving many knocks. Vishesh Rajaram identified nerve and patience as qualities seen in founders who have outlasted themselves and their businesses. These qualities help entrepreneurs continue working through setbacks while pursuing difficult technical opportunities and filling gaps in the ecosystem.

The article does not give a specific development timeline for individual deeptech products. It does say investors see an eight-to-10-year opportunity window and that early capital is no longer expected to hold founders back. The broader implication is a growing willingness to support bold ideas, persistence, and self-reliant technologies.