Deep Tech Startup Policy : The Indian government is taking a major stride forward in supporting innovation and bolstering the country’s startup ecosystem with its freshly launched draft national deep tech startup strategy. With a mission to promote frontier technologies and digitalization, the policy offers significant changes across nine important issues, aiming to empower deep tech entrepreneurs and provide them with the assistance they need to survive.
Empowering Access to Funding
One of the policy’s main achievements is the establishment of a specific ‘deep tech capital guidance’ fund. This pioneering (fund-of-fund) (FoF) structure brings together government, private limited partners, and overseas investors to pledge resources to help deep tech businesses. The mother fund’s unique ability to focus on investments in higher-risk businesses promises to fuel the expansion of these innovative enterprises.
Moreover, the program tries to entice domestic general partners and limited partners from the investing community by offering fiscal incentives such as tax rebates. This initiative intends to encourage these investors to dedicate a percentage of their corpus to deep tech businesses, thereby fuelling the expansion of the ecosystem.
Strengthening Intellectual Property Regime: Deep tech
Recognizing the essential role intellectual property plays in the deep tech field, the draft strategy emphasizes enhancing the IP regime. This action not only protects the unique ideas of companies but also attracts more investment and creates a culture of research and development.
Overcoming the Valley of Death (VoD)
Deep tech businesses sometimes endure a hard period known as the (Valley of Death) (VoD), where they struggle to get sufficient investment to go further. The draft policy highlights this important time and recommends supporting programs based on the ‘failing by design notion. These programs would enable entrepreneurs to pivot, modify strategy, and evolve during the early phases, helping them overcome the VoD and continue their journey toward success.
Enabling Shared Infrastructure and Resource Sharing
The proposed strategy envisions shared infrastructure and resource sharing as a means to empower deep tech firms. By easing access to vital resources and technology, businesses can lower their operational costs and focus on innovation and growth.
Complementing Existing Initiatives
In a statement, officials underlined that the draft policy complements and adds value to the existing Startup India policies, programs, and activities. By building a supportive ecosystem, the government strives to solve the specific and complicated issues encountered by deep tech businesses.
A Collaborative and Inclusive Approach
The creation of the draft policy entailed extensive consultations with over 200 stakeholders. Various priority-setting meetings, consultative workshops, and targeted group conversations with deep tech startups across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi were conducted. The policy-making process also engaged subject matter experts, technology policy researchers, and thought leaders to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive framework.
Deep Tech Startup Policy & Key Sub-Sectors in Focus
The draft policy has considered ten major sub-sectors in the deep tech ecosystem. These cover technical hardware such as 3D printing and semiconductor manufacturing, enterprise software, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, and security solutions.
Looking Ahead
With the draft policy out for stakeholder input through September 15, all eyes are on the revolutionary potential of these proposed reforms. If executed correctly, the strategy has the capacity to usher in a new era of creativity, enhance India’s status as a global deep tech hub, and uncover tremendous prospects for companies in frontier technologies.