Shastra VC Launches $100 Million Deeptech Fund
The Bengaluru-based investor will back early-stage companies in AI, defence, spacetech and renewable sciences.
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Shastra VC has launched a $100 million fund to invest in early-stage startups across deeptech, defense, artificial intelligence and renewable sciences, as investor interest in India’s research-led startup ecosystem grows.
The Bengaluru-based venture capital firm will invest between $500,000 and $3 million in intellectual property-led companies from seed to Series A stages and beyond.
The new vehicle is Shastra VC’s third fund and marks a scale-up for the investor, formerly known as Veda VC.
Founded by Vasant Rao, Avijeet Alagathi and Ashis Nayak, Shastra VC has deployed about $55 million across its first two funds. Its portfolio includes Simplismart, Alt Carbon, Sisir Radar and Avammune.
The firm’s website says it has invested in more than 30 startups, which have raised more than $80 million in follow-on capital.
It describes its focus as frontier tech, climate tech and AI.
The firm has also built an advisory network that includes industry executives and domain experts across sectors including semiconductors, biotech and climate.
The fund launch comes as deeptech funding in India becomes more concentrated.
Indian deeptech startups raised $1.6 billion in 2025, up from $1.2 billion in 2024, even as the number of funding rounds fell to 274 from 393 a year earlier, Tracxn data cited by Times of India showed.
Government support is also expanding. DPIIT’s operational guidelines for Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 set out a ₹10,000 crore corpus to be deployed through commitments to Sebi-registered alternative investment funds, with support aimed at priority segments including deeptech startups, early-growth startups and technology-led manufacturing.
