Unicorn India Ventures has closed its third fund at ₹1,200 crore, surpassing its original target and signalling renewed investor confidence in India’s deeptech sector. The oversubscribed raise comes as investors shift attention from consumer internet plays to capital-intensive, long-horizon technology ventures with strategic importance.
Diverse investor base fuels oversubscription
Fund III launched with a base target of ₹1,000 crore and a greenshoe option. Strong demand led the firm to fully exercise that option, taking the corpus to ₹1,200 crore. The raise attracted a mix of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, institutional investors and government-backed development entities, highlighting broad-based support for deep technology investing in India.
Nearly one-third of the fund’s capital reportedly came from first-time international backers, with significant participation from the United States. This cross-border interest reflects growing recognition of India as a destination for early-stage deeptech capital—particularly for areas that require patient funding and specialized expertise.
Focused strategy on deeptech and strategic infrastructure
Unicorn India Ventures intends to concentrate Fund III investments on core technology domains rather than consumer-facing, quick-scaling software models. Target sectors include semiconductors, spacetech, artificial intelligence infrastructure, quantum sensing and other deeptech verticals.
These sectors align with national priorities to build indigenous technological capabilities and reduce dependency on imports for critical components and systems. While deeptech startups typically demand longer development cycles and carry higher technical risk, they can deliver defensible IP and significant economic and strategic value over time.
Deployment plans and portfolio outlook
The firm plans to back around 20 early-stage companies from Fund III, deploying capital at seed to early growth stages with average cheque sizes of approximately ₹10–15 crore. Several investments are already underway, with more portfolio additions expected in coming months across agritech-linked deeptech, advanced sensing and space-focused innovation.
Across its three funds, Unicorn India Ventures has built a portfolio of nearly 50 startups with a combined valuation approaching $5 billion. The firm has a track record of supporting technically strong founding teams pursuing long-term, scalable solutions.
Implications for India’s startup ecosystem
The successful close of Fund III is a positive indicator for India’s evolving startup landscape, underscoring a shift among investors toward foundational technologies that can enable cross-industry innovation. For policymakers and ecosystem stakeholders, the fundraise reinforces the case for continued support of deeptech R&D, capital formation and talent development to nurture globally competitive technology companies.
