VC founder outlines why he’s doubling down on Indian deeptech

AUM Ventures, an India-focused deeptech venture capital firm that has backed some of India’s more unconventional startups in spacetech and semiconductors, is preparing to launch its second fund.

The fund will be around 7.5 billion rupees (US$80 million), according to founding partner Chetan Mehta. The firm is targeting a first close of US$20 million to US$25 million by May, with deployments expected in the second half of this year. AUM has already secured a license from market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India for the fund.

AUM Ventures’ founding partner Chetan Mehta / Photo credit: AUM Ventures

The VC firm, which invested in companies like Skyroot, Cosmoverse Space, Azimuth AI, and Sanyark Space, closed its first fund at US$23 million in 2025, backed by global limited partners, family offices, and tech entrepreneurs based in Silicon Valley. It made 24 investments through this investment vehicle, including five in spacetech, the most by any Indian VC in a single fund.

AUM focuses on working closely with India’s deeptech ecosystem at a time when government support and geopolitical shifts are channeling capital into strategic sectors. The government, for instance, has recently announced a US$1.2 billion fund for deeptech and manufacturing startups.

In an interview with Tech in Asia, Mehta discusses where he sees the next opportunities in Indian deeptech, why founders often raise too much capital too early, and why technical entrepreneurs need to quickly develop a CEO mindset.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

How would you describe your investment thesis as a deeptech-focused VC? And will that thesis carry over into fund two?

We try to look at sectors where there is less noise. So we try to avoid “hot” sectors and not have any kind of FOMO while investing. Even though we are a pre-seed fund, we want to be more focused and concentrated and not do 40 to 50 odd deals.

In fund one, we decided we will not have more than 25 companies, and we have a portfolio of 24 startups today. In fund two again, we are looking at a similar kind of 25 core positions, with an average ticket size of US$1 million to US$2 million as first checks.

Skyroot co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana (left) with AUM Ventures’ founding partner Chetan Mehta / Photo credit: AUM Ventures

We don’t mind deals being pre-product or prerevenue, and we wish to take 10% to 15% ownership upfront. So it is really about taking high conviction bets and working with the founders as real co-founders in the journey and helping them.

Our first fund gave us conviction that India can produce globally competitive deeptech companies. Fund two is about doubling down on that.