Speciale Invest plans ₹1,400 cr Growth Fund II for India's deep-tech scale

The deep-tech-focused venture firm plans to raise ₹1,400 crore for its second growth fund to back companies from Series A, betting India's ecosystem is shifting from research to execution

Speciale Invest, a venture firm focused on deep science and technology, is preparing to launch its second growth fund, targeting ₹1,400 crore to back later-stage deep-tech companies. The fund, expected to begin raising capital in the new year, will invest from Series A onwards, aiming to provide the long-term capital needed to scale proven technologies to commercial markets.

 

What is Speciale Invest’s approach to deep-tech investing? 

“Deep-tech has never been about chasing short-term cycles,” said Vishesh Rajaram, founding partner at Speciale Invest. “It is about building institutions that can compound value over decades — often starting with uncomfortable science risk and long timelines.”

 

Which sectors and companies has Speciale Invest backed so far? 

Over the past eight years, Speciale Invest has focused exclusively on deep-tech across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, space technologies, climate and energy, health and biosciences, and AI. It has backed companies such as Anubal Fusion, Agnikul Cosmos, GalaxEye Space, Inspecity, Qnu Labs, Mindgrove Tech and Morphing Machines.

 

What is driving India’s deep-tech momentum now? 

The firm said India’s deep-tech momentum is increasingly driven by tighter links between academia and industry, with institutions such as IIT Madras, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru and IIT Bombay emerging as engines of startup creation. Policy initiatives, including the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the India Semiconductor Mission, have reinforced this shift by backing translational research and capital-intensive technologies. Speciale Invest said it has been active at the earliest stages, working with academic partners to help move ideas from the lab to the market.

 

What does Speciale Invest see as the biggest bottleneck for deep-tech firms? 

“India’s academic ecosystem has reached a point where the quality of research is no longer the bottleneck,” said Arjun Rao, founding partner at Speciale Invest. “The real challenge now is execution — turning validated science into scalable, competitive businesses.”

 

How is the venture-capital market evolving for deep tech? 

India’s venture-capital market has also matured, with investors increasingly moving beyond consumer and software-as-a-service (SaaS) models towards more complex, science-led opportunities. Capital flows into deep tech have risen, drawing interest from global investors, corporates and family offices, reflecting growing confidence in the sector’s long-term value.

 

Who will lead growth-stage investing at Speciale Invest? 

Speciale Invest also said it has added Vijay Jacob as a general partner to lead growth-stage investing. A former founding member of NewQuest Capital, Jacob brings nearly two decades of experience across private equity, venture capital and public markets, with a focus on scaling companies through complex growth phases.

 

What is the goal of Growth Fund II? 

“India has done a fantastic job over the last ten years in emerging as one of the frontiers of deep-tech innovation,” said Vijay Jacob, general partner at Speciale Invest. “The next challenge is scaling — moving from feasibility to viability. Speciale Invest will extend the work done in the seed stage to the growth stage, now supporting founders and companies as they move from validated technology to commercially scalable, profitable, globally competitive institutions.”

 

Speciale Invest Growth Fund II is aimed at backing founders as they move from early technical validation to commercial scale. Drawing on the firm’s early-stage pipeline and ties to academia and industry, the fund plans to take concentrated positions in a select group of high-conviction companies.

 

India’s deep-tech sector is moving from promise to execution, with the next phase shaped by companies that can scale to global relevance. Speciale Invest said it aims to support that transition by pairing early-stage insight with long-term growth capital.