🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Shastra’s new fund comes from founders who have built companies

• Shastra VC is run by partners who have built and sold businesses. Their track record includes Autoninja’s sale to ICICI Lombard, an Indian insurance company, and BYG’s sale to Curefit, a fitness and wellness company 1.
• That experience shapes a hands-on style. The firm has also built an advisory network that includes former Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani 1.
• The firm also set up SDEX, a fellowship program that offers up to US$100,000 in equity-free funding. It aims to help academic researchers turn their work into commercial businesses 2.
• The program fits Shastra’s focus on intellectual property-led startups. More than 20 patents have been filed across its portfolio, and more than 12 portfolio companies include PhD scholars on the founding team, Shastra says 3.

India’s deep tech push is getting help from a market pullback and state support

• Shastra launched the fund as startup funding in India fell 17% to US$10.5 billion in 2025 4.
• Amid that slowdown, deeptech became India’s third most-funded startup segment in 2025. Startups raised about US$500 million across 87 deals 1.
• Government policy is also feeding that shift. A new US$1.1 billion (100 billion rupees (US$1.04 billion)) state-backed fund-of-funds targets deep tech, AI, and advanced manufacturing 4.
• State money can support sectors that need more time and more capital, including semiconductors, biotech, and spacetech. Private venture firms still need to pick carefully 4.