Celesta Capital, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, is preparing to introduce a new deeptech fund aimed at Indian startups, targeting a corpus of ₹2,000 crore.
Sources indicate that the firm has initiated discussions with limited partners to secure the necessary capital for this Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), which has already received approval from SEBI.
The fund will primarily focus on early-stage deeptech startups, particularly those in Series A and B funding rounds, with expected investment sizes ranging from $3 million to $7 million.
While inquiries made to Celesta Capital regarding the fund's launch went unanswered at the time of this report, the firm boasts a diverse portfolio that includes investments in the US, Israel, the UK, India, and China. Notable Indian companies in its portfolio include ideaForge, Agnikul, 5C Network, Brick&Bolt, and Pixis.
To date, Celesta Capital claims to have made over 100 investments and manages assets totaling approximately $1.1 billion. The firm is also a member of the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA), established in September 2025, with the goal of investing more than $1 billion in India's deeptech startups over the next decade.
Other prominent members of the IDTA include Accel, Blume Ventures, Gaja Capital, Ideaspring Capital, Premji Invest, Tenacity Ventures, and Venture Catalysts. During the alliance's launch, Sriram Viswanathan, founding managing partner of Celesta Capital, stated that each member is committed to investing in the Indian deeptech sector across various fields such as semiconductors, spacetech, quantum computing, robotics, biotech, and renewable energy.
Despite a history of limited funding in India’s deeptech sector, recent government initiatives aimed at promoting research and development have sparked renewed investor interest. This includes a revised definition of startups that now allows deeptech entities to receive recognition and benefits for up to 20 years.
Additionally, the government has raised the turnover threshold for deeptech startups to ₹300 crore from ₹200 crore to qualify for various incentives. Recent Union Budgets have also introduced new initiatives to enhance the deeptech landscape, including a dedicated research and development scheme with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore.
As a result of these efforts, the number of funding deals in the deeptech sector increased to 87 in 2025, up from 76 in 2024. Several VC firms, including Speciale Invest, 888VC, Riceberg Ventures, and Chiratae Ventures, have also launched new funds targeting deeptech startups.
