Now Reading: L&T Innovation Fund eyes deeper bets in Indian deeptech startups
-
01
L&T Innovation Fund eyes deeper bets in Indian deeptech startups
L&T Innovation Fund eyes deeper bets in Indian deeptech startups
L&T Innovation Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Larsen & Toubro, plans to increase its investments in Indian deeptech startups after focusing largely abroad. The five-year-old fund, which has made eight…
The Story in Brief
L&T Innovation Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Larsen & Toubro, plans to increase its investments in Indian deeptech startups after focusing largely abroad. The five-year-old fund, which has made eight global investments, including in AI cybersecurity firm Cyfirma, said it is now scouting for local bets. It typically writes first cheques of $1-10 million and keeps stakes below 20%.
The fund plans to back Indian startups at earlier technology readiness levels of 4 or 5, helping them scale to 7 or 8. Investor appetite for Indian deeptech has grown as the government pushes indigenous tech in space, quantum computing, and defence. Funding in the sector hit $2 billion across 179 deals in 2026, up from $901 million in 2023, Mint reports citing Tracxn data.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative around Indian deeptech often swings between two poles: either it is the next sunrise sector or a capital-intensive mirage. The L&T fund's plan to invest at earlier TRL 4 or 5 stage shows conviction, yet its caution, backing only 8 companies globally in five years, is telling. The real test will be whether Indian CVCs, including L&T, can match the deal velocity of global peers like Qualcomm Ventures. The number to watch is how many of these early-stage bets actually reach commercial scale.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
