Speciale Invest to Launch ₹1,400 Crore Growth Fund II to Back Indian Deeptech Startups

Chennai-based deeptech-focused venture capital firm Speciale Invest is preparing to launch its ₹1,400 crore Growth Fund II, aimed squarely at solving one of the biggest bottlenecks in India’s deeptech ecosystem: growth-stage capital.

The new fund plans to back 12 to 15 deeptech companies, with average cheque sizes ranging between $5 million and $8 million. It is designed to support startups that have already validated their core technology and are now looking to scale operations, commercialise globally, and build institution-scale businesses.

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Addressing India’s Growth Capital Gap

According to Vishesh Rajaram, founding partner at Speciale Invest, India’s deeptech ecosystem has matured significantly at the seed stage. Early capital for scientific validation and prototype development is no longer the primary challenge.

Instead, the real constraint today is growth capital.

Many Indian deeptech startups have successfully de-risked their core technology but struggle to raise the larger cheques required for:

• Capacity expansion
• Manufacturing scale-up
• Global go-to-market execution
• Competing with well-funded international peers

Growth Fund II is intended to bridge this gap and prevent promising deeptech companies from stagnating after early success.

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Focus Areas: High-Impact Deeptech Sectors

The new fund will continue Speciale Invest’s focus on strategically critical deeptech domains, including:

• Spacetech
• Advanced manufacturing
• Energy storage
• Quantum computing
• Health and biosciences
• Defence and dual-use technologies

These sectors align closely with India’s long-term priorities around technological sovereignty, industrial competitiveness, and national security.

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A Shift in the Investor Base

Speciale Invest expects a notable shift in the composition of limited partners (LPs) for Growth Fund II.

While the firm’s early-stage funds have historically seen strong participation from family offices, the growth fund is expected to attract more institutional investors.

According to the firm, this reflects a maturing Indian venture ecosystem, where LPs are increasingly comfortable allocating capital across different stages, timelines, and risk profiles — including capital-intensive deeptech ventures.

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Strengthening Growth-Stage Expertise

To support its expansion into growth-stage investing, Speciale Invest has appointed Vijay Jacob as a General Partner.

Jacob is a former founding member of NewQuest Capital (now part of TPG NewQuest) and brings deep experience in helping companies transition from:

• Technology validation
• To commercial scale
• To global execution

This expertise is critical for deeptech startups that must navigate long sales cycles, regulatory complexity, and capital-intensive scale-up phases.

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Recent Fund Activity and Track Record

The announcement of Growth Fund II comes just four months after Speciale Invest closed Fund III at ₹600 crore, exceeding its initial target of ₹500 crore.

Fund III highlights:

• Focuses on early-stage deeptech startups
• Plans to back 18–20 companies
• Average cheque size of ₹7–10 crore

Since 2018, across three early-stage funds launched in 2018, 2021, and 2025, Speciale Invest has backed around 35 startups.

Notable portfolio companies include:

• Agnikul Cosmos
• GalaxEye
• ePlane Company
• Ultraviolette
• CynLr
• QNu Labs

The firm has recorded nine M&A exits to date and has steadily increased its ownership in portfolio companies. In Fund III, Speciale Invest is targeting an average stake of ~15%, compared to 5% in Fund I and 10% in Fund II.

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Looking Ahead: Backing Deeptech Through Scale

With the launch of Growth Fund II, Speciale Invest is positioning itself as a long-term partner for Indian deeptech founders — supporting them not just at inception, but through the most capital-intensive and execution-heavy phase of their journey.

The move underscores a growing belief that India can build globally competitive deeptech companies, provided founders have access to patient, informed growth capital.

As deeptech becomes central to India’s economic and strategic future, funds like Growth Fund II could play a decisive role in shaping the next generation of global technology leaders from the country.