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One of my favorite startup segments is deeptech. In my view, the companies in the space are really sitting at the intersection of innovation, science, and business, and come up with genuinely new, revolutionary, and life-changing solutions.
However, it’s not an easy sector to be in – product development takes time and massive amounts of R&D.
It’s certainly not the most attractive to investors looking for quick returns, and as such, Southeast Asia’s deeptech sector has struggled to take off. Deeptech funding in Singapore, for one, hit a five-year low in 2024, according to data from Enterprise Singapore.
However, it’s an important industry, and folks are still bullish on it. For example, the Singapore government has pledged US$324 million to expand an existing scheme aimed at attracting more VC firms to invest in local deeptech startups. And in today’s premium story, we look at a VC that has its eyes firmly on deeptech.
Today we look at:
- Antares Ventures’ deeptech focus
- An Indian deeptech startup that’s raised fresh funds
- Other newsy highlights such as the launch of a new spacetech fund in India and rumors of DeepSeek potentially seeking out external investors
Premium summary
Going deep
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Meet Antares Ventures, a Singapore-based VC firm. Founded by Michael Gryseels, a former managing partner of McKinsey and Company and an ex-executive at CP Group, the firm aims to back global deeptech ventures tackling major challenges in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and India.
- In focus: Antares mostly targets startups in the late seed to series B stages, with series A as its “sweet spot.” Most of its portfolio companies are still in the early phases of commercialization.
- Areas of interest: The VC firm focuses its investments on specific sectors that address Asia’s major growth challenges. These include energy transition and decarbonization, sustainable cities and transport, sustainable agriculture and food, and “frontiers of humanity” like healthcare and aging.
- Eyes on SEA: Right now, 70% of Antares’ portfolio is outside Southeast Asia. According to Gryseels, the firm wants to invest more in the region, but the opportunities need to be there. It sees untapped potential in areas such as geothermal energy and agriculture, for instance.
Read more: Why this investor is all in on deeptech
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