'Lagey Raho Munnabhai...' - Naukri.Com Founder Shares List Of Companies He Has Invested In

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Info Edge, shared some powerful insights on deep tech and AI funding through a series of tweets. His thoughts highlight the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for India in this space.

In the U.S., companies like OpenAI have raised massive amounts of capital—$58 billion so far—and yet they still require more funding. 

The Struggle to Fund Deep Tech

Bikhchandani points out, “The investors who came in initially were not for profit, people who bankrolled initially were big, deep-pocketed people like Elon Musk, not VC funds.”

Eventually, large companies like Microsoft joined in, but OpenAI's journey was supported by people with the resources to fund long-term, high-risk projects, not just venture capitalists looking for quick returns.

This same challenge exists in India. Bikhchandani highlights that “even if you say India is cheaper by say 80%, you are talking about the equivalent of open AI being created using $12 billion, which is very expensive.”

Funding for deep tech and AI is daunting, and there’s a limited pool of investors capable of backing these kinds of high-risk, long-term projects.

Also Read: No, Piyush Goyal Didn't Run Down Indian Startups: 5 Things He Said That Should Go Viral

Who Can Support Deep Tech in India?

Bikhchandani suggests that India’s large companies, both in the private and public sectors, will need to play a significant role. He names companies like Reliance, Tata, Adani, and major IT firms such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL. Public sector players such as ONGC and NTPC could also contribute. The need for funding is clear, but the question is, “Who has the kind of balance sheet to support that?”

He emphasizes that “There are only very few such large balance sheets, whether in the private sector or public sector, that can support this kind of investment in R&D.”

Bridging the Gap 

Bikhchandani stresses the importance of deep tech for India's strategic priorities: “Deep tech is important from a national strategic priority perspective that you do need India to progress in science and technology.”

However, he acknowledges that deep tech investments need to make commercial sense for both entrepreneurs and investors. The government and private industry must bridge this gap, ensuring that national priorities align with commercial incentives.

This gap is something Info Edge has already been addressing. As Bikhchandani shares, “At InfoEdge, we invested in Zomato in 2010 and in Policybazaar in 2008. But because we invested from the balance sheet and we didn’t have a fund with a finite life, we are still holding on after 15 years and 17 years.”

Unlike traditional VC funds, Info Edge has invested in deep tech using its own balance sheet, which allowed for a long-term vision.

The Need for Long-Term Investment Horizons

Bikhchandani argues that deep tech and AI require patience. “Deep tech investing needs funds with a much, much longer time horizon for investing, perhaps perpetual capital.” Current funds with a typical 10-12 year time horizon won’t work for deep tech. He suggests that “if there’s going to be a focus on deep tech for allocation, we cannot be investing in funds that have a 10-year or 12-year time horizon. It will possibly have to be a 20-25 year time horizon fund or perhaps an infinite time horizon, open-ended fund.”

This type of long-term funding approach is essential for the success of deep tech and foundational AI companies, especially when their potential is still uncertain.

Info Edge’s Deep Tech Portfolio

Info Edge has already been making strides in the deep tech space, with 18 investments over the last five years in sectors ranging from drug discovery to space technology. Bikhchandani proudly shares, “We have invested into eighteen Deep Tech companies over the past five years. And we continue to invest in one or two more every quarter.”

Some of their notable investments include:

Matter Motors - Battery tech & geared motorbikes

Pantherun - Hardware & software encryption

Leumasware - Manufacturing on demand

Manastu Space - Propulsion systems for in-space

Ahammune BioSciences - Drug candidates for autoimmune disorders

Marbles Health - Mental health & depression

BrainSight AI - Interpreting brain MRIs

ePlaneCo - Electric flying taxi (eVTOL)

Unbox Robotics - Robotics for e-commerce warehouses

RaylOT - Touchless breath monitoring

Skyserve AI - Edge-compute for geospatial data

Venture Capital Funding In India

Bikhchandani’s vision for deep tech is clear: “Lagey Raho Munnabhai. Acchhey Din Aayengey” (Good days will come).

India's venture capital (VC) ecosystem saw strong growth in 2024, with funding rising by 43% to reach $13.7 billion, according to a report. This growth was driven by a 45% increase in deal activity, with 1,270 transactions recorded.

As a result, India remains the second-largest market for venture capital and growth funding in the Asia-Pacific region.

The report, by Bain & Company and IVCA, highlighted that over 60% of the total funding went to sectors like consumer technology, software and SaaS (including generative AI), and fintech. Among these, consumer technology led the way, attracting $5.4 billion in funding, more than double the amount in 2023.