Nvidia joins $850 million India Deep Tech Alliance to boost AI startups

Nvidia has joined Indian and US investors in the India Deep Tech Alliance, which has raised over $850 million to support startups in AI, space, semiconductors and robotics

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Nvidia has joined Indian and US investors in supporting India’s deep-tech startups, as the India Deep Tech Alliance secured over $850 million in new capital commitments, news agency Reuters reported.  

The alliance, launched in September with an initial $1 billion fund, aims to bridge the funding gap in research-driven sectors such as space, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. 

The alliance’s new backers include Qualcomm Ventures, Activate AI, InfoEdge Ventures, Chirate Ventures and Kalaari Capital. As a founding member and strategic advisor, Nvidia will offer technical guidance, training, and policy inputs to help Indian startups integrate its AI and computing technologies. 

Sriram Viswanathan, founding managing partner at Celesta Capital, told Reuters that government support was helping accelerate innovation in the sector. “There’s no better time for India to look at deep tech,” he said.   

 

Bridging India’s deep-tech funding gap

Despite rising investor interest, deep-tech startups in India still face a shortage of funding due to long development cycles and uncertain profitability. Deep-tech funding rose 78 per cent to $1.6 billion in 2023, but this accounted for only one-fifth of the total $7.4 billion raised across all startups, according to Nasscom. 

The alliance, which includes Celesta, Accel, Blume Ventures, Gaja Capital and Premji Invest, plans to invest its own capital in Indian deep-tech startups over the next 5-10 years. Members will also provide mentorship and industry access. “There’s no real pooling of capital. It’s voluntary,” Viswanathan said, comparing the setup to Nasscom’s model. 

The move aligns with the Indian government’s recent $12 billion initiative to promote research and development. The plan seeks to strengthen India’s capabilities in core technologies like semiconductors and AI, areas seen as crucial for economic and strategic independence. 

 

  Nvidia hits $5 trillion valuation amid AI boom

Last week, Nvidia made global headlines by becoming the first company to surpass a $5 trillion market valuation, Reuters had reported. 

Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Nvidia’s shares have soared twelvefold, helping drive the S&P 500 to record highs. Its latest valuation, achieved only three months after crossing $4 trillion, now exceeds the total value of the global cryptocurrency market and equals nearly half of Europe’s Stoxx 600 index.

 

Huang’s fortune surges with Nvidia’s rise

At current market prices, CEO Jensen Huang’s stake in the company is worth about $179.2 billion, making him the eighth-richest person in the world, according to Forbes. 

Born in Taiwan and raised in the US, Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it ever since. Under his leadership, Nvidia’s H100 and Blackwell chips have become essential to large-language models that power tools like ChatGPT and xAI. 

While Nvidia remains the clear front-runner in AI hardware, other tech giants, including Apple and Microsoft, have also crossed the $4 trillion valuation mark in recent months.

 

[With agency inputs]