To be sure, for an Indian deep-tech startup a breakthrough technology is only half the battle. To make of it a commercially viable business one needs funding, industry know-how and the proper partnerships. With its push into the United States, Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) intends to close that divide.
The venture capital firm out of Mumbai has put in place US operations and made former Google man Kishore Kanakamedala its Venture Partner to head up the effort. The idea is to put Indian deep-tech firms in touch with the global technology ecosystem and guide them from innovation to growth on the international scene.
Why Unicorn India Ventures Is Expanding to the US Now
The UIV move comes on the heels of the first close of the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I at ₹450 crore and the wrapping up of its third fund for ₹1,200 crore earlier in the year.
In the course of raising those funds the firm saw considerable appetite among American investors for Indian deep-tech startups and was moved to set up shop in the country to capitalise on it. Bhaskar Majumdar, UIV’s Founder and Managing Partner, calls it the “next obvious step” after the fund close given the willingness of US investors to put their money behind Indian deep-tech. For founders there are new ways to put together commercial partnerships and the kind of relationships that underpin long-term growth as well as to raise capital.
Former Google Executive Kishore Kanakamedala to Lead US Expansion
Kanakamedala has over 30 years’ experience putting products to scale at Meta, Google and Stripe. An alumnus of IIT Madras who has put his own money into Unicorn funds before, he is charged with investing in founders who are after high-impact problems and to get portfolio companies to go global. He will also develop a wider co-investment ecosystem for the sector.
To back the portfolio companies with local insight on commercialisation and market development he is putting together a US team of mid- to senior-level operator-investors. That group will act as a conduit for knowledge between UIV’s American and Indian sides and keep the firm in tune with what is happening in global tech. For a startup with a complex product such operational support can be worth as much as the capital itself.
UIV’s Deep-Tech Portfolio Spans Six Key Sectors
Since 2016 UIV has been an early-stage VC in Mumbai concentrating on Indian deep-tech with solid intellectual property behind its wares. It handles some $350 million in total and puts down between ₹10 crore and ₹25 crore per company.
Its 54 portfolio holdings cover semiconductors, space, defence, healthcare, robotics and agritech. Among them are Open, Olyv, TakeMe2Space, Orbitaid, Nava, Satleo Labs, Netrasemi, Vervesemi, EyeROV and Genrobotics.
Can UIV Help Indian Deep-Tech Startups Scale Globally?
With this expansion UIV is adding an element of international market development to how it invests. The firm wants to see startups put their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) where it should be and build the commercial muscle for the next round of funding.
Now it is a matter of execution. UIV is set to use its investment, connections and experienced operators to see Indian deep-tech concerns get past the development stage and stand their ground in global markets.
