TDK Ventures, Kae Capital unveil landmark survey on India’s deeptech future. Here’s a report…

Bengaluru: TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) on Wednesday announced that its corporate venture capital arm, TDK Ventures Inc., in partnership with early-stage investor Kae Capital, has released a first-of-its-kind study, Deeptech India 2025: Mapping the Next Frontier.

The report captures perspectives from nearly 100 deeptech founders across India, offering rare insights into the opportunities and hurdles defining the country’s innovation journey.

The collaboration brings together Kae Capital’s grassroots understanding of the Indian startup ecosystem and TDK Ventures’ global vantage point, creating a platform to spotlight both progress and potential within India’s deeptech sector.

Funding confidence amid capital constraints

The survey reveals a nuanced fundraising landscape. While over half (53 percent) of founders believe access to capital remains difficult, and only 3 percent describe it as abundant, with optimism prevailing — 58 percent of respondents expressed confidence in securing their next funding round.

Key challenges identified include lack of investor understanding (45 percent), long gestation periods (19 percent), valuation mismatches (13 percent), and limited depth of local venture capital (9 percent).

Notably, the report highlights high-growth “sunshine sectors” such as Energy Transition, Robotics and Automation, B2C Deeptech, AgriTech, Advanced Materials, Semiconductors, Space Tech, and Quantum Technology as hotspots for innovation and funding momentum in the coming years.

“Deeptech demands a fundamentally different and nuanced approach. India is at the cusp of transformative growth in this space, and this survey strengthens our understanding of founders’ challenges while highlighting India’s potential to build global leaders,” said Nicolas Sauvage, President, TDK Ventures.

“By validating technologies, enabling pilots, and bringing global perspectives, we aim to help Indian innovators scale into world-class companies,” he added.

Market and talent bottlenecks

The study also underlines structural challenges around market readiness and talent. While 44 percent of founders believe Indian markets are increasingly receptive to deeptech solutions, 31 percent pointed to pricing mismatches and another 31 percent cited difficulties in global go-to-market strategies.

Limited technology maturity and weak engagement from domestic OEMs further complicate scaling.

Talent shortages remain a critical bottleneck, with 45 percent of founders ranking it as their top concern. High salary expectations (22 percent) and competition with multinationals (20 percent) add to the pressure on emerging startups.

“Deeptech founders in India are tackling problems that demand long-term commitment and significant technical depth,” said Abhishek Srivastava, General Partner, Kae Capital.

“At Kae, we see deeptech as central to India’s resilience and global competitiveness. By strengthening capital flows and enabling pathways to global markets, we can help Indian founders build companies that don’t just succeed locally but lead globally,” he adds.

Infrastructure and policy tailwinds

Infrastructure access remains uneven. Only 23 percent of founders reported full access to specialized labs, fabs, and testing facilities, while 57 percent had partial access and 20 percent had none.

However, government policies are beginning to shift the equation. Tax incentives (27 percent), R&D policies (23 percent), and public procurement opportunities (12 percent) were cited as the most supportive interventions.

“Despite challenges across funding, talent, infrastructure, and policy, founders remain optimistic about India’s deeptech trajectory,” said Ravi Jain, Investment Director, TDK Ventures India.

“The ecosystem is entering a decisive growth phase, and at TDK Ventures we are committed to bridging gaps and enabling the next wave of innovation,” he added.

A decisive moment for Indian deeptech

Deeptech India 2025: Mapping the Next Frontier underscores that India is at a pivotal moment. With global interest rising and government support strengthening, the ecosystem is poised to accelerate. Yet, building world-class companies will require solving structural barriers in funding, talent, and infrastructure.

By shining a light on these dynamics, TDK Ventures and Kae Capital aim to foster collaboration between founders, investors, policymakers, and global stakeholders — paving the way for India’s deeptech innovators to define the next frontier of technology.