Chennai-based deeptech enterprise capital agency Speciale Make investments is ready to launch its Rs 1,400 crore Development Fund II, aiming to plug a long-standing hole in India’s deeptech funding panorama for startups.

The brand new fund will again 12-15 startups, with common cheque sizes of $5-8 million.

Vishesh Rajaram, founding associate at Speciale Make investments, mentioned that whereas India has seen a gentle influx of capital into early-stage deeptech, growth-stage funding stays scarce.

“India doesn’t have a deeptech downside on the seed stage. The actual hole is development capital. Many startups have de-risked science, however they nonetheless want capital to turn out to be self-sustaining establishments,” he mentioned.

The fund will proceed to take a position throughout sectors corresponding to spacetech, superior manufacturing, vitality storage, quantum computing, well being and biosciences, and defence applied sciences.

Speciale Make investments expects a shift in its restricted associate base for the expansion fund, with better participation from institutional traders. Early-stage funds, against this, are prone to proceed seeing stronger curiosity from household workplaces. Rajaram famous that India’s LP base has turn out to be more and more knowledgeable about allocating capital throughout completely different threat–reward profiles.

To strengthen its growth-stage investing capabilities, the agency has onboarded Vijay Jacob as basic associate. Jacob, a former founding member of NewQuest Capital, now a part of TPG NewQuest, mentioned the fund will concentrate on backing deeptech firms which have mitigated scientific threat and are prepared for capability constructing and international competitors.

The launch of Development Fund II comes 4 months after Speciale closed its Fund III at Rs 600 crore, exceeding its authentic goal of Rs 500 crore. Fund III is concentrated on early-stage investments and plans to again 18–20 startups in areas corresponding to AI infrastructure, spacetech, climatetech, quantum programs, superior manufacturing, and dual-use defence, with cheque sizes starting from Rs 7 crore to Rs 10 crore.

Throughout its final three early-stage funds launched in 2018, 2021 and 2025, Speciale Make investments has backed round 35 startups. Its portfolio consists of firms corresponding to Agnikul Cosmos, GalaxEye, ePlane Firm, Ultraviolette, CynLr and QNu Labs. The agency has recorded 9 M&A exits to this point and has been steadily growing its possession in portfolio firms, concentrating on a mean stake of about 15 % in Fund III, up from 5 % in Fund I and 10 % in Fund II.