India’s Cleantech Funding Boom, The AI Safety Drill & More

The Cleantech Boom: As per Inc42 data, Indian cleantech startups raised a record $433 Mn in Q3 2026, nearly 3X from $118 Mn in the year-ago quarter. Although funding remained heavily concentrated in one segment, the sector’s broader momentum was evident: deal count rose 44% YoY to 23, while average cheque size zoomed to $19 Mn from $7 Mn in Q3 2025.

The EV Concentration: Within cleantech, electric mobility dominated funding charts in Q3. Just three EV startups – River, Yulu and Ultraviolette – raised a combined $298 Mn, nearly 69% of the sector’s total haul in the quarter. The concentration highlights the sector’s over-dependence on a small group of well-funded ventures.

Decoding The Boom: Cleantech funding surged as investors shifted their focus from climate narratives to commercially-viable businesses solving real problems. Electric mobility led the charge, supported by rising EV registrations, stronger consumer demand and improving PMF. What also helped was rising component localisation and growing investor confidence.

The Road Ahead: Experts believe that the sector’s long-term outlook will depend on broadening investment beyond EVs to other emerging areas such as energy storage, grid tech and green hydrogen. They also see deeper localisation improving margins and reducing supply chain risks. As such, unit economics and a clear path to sustainable revenues will be a key focus area for backers going forward.

As investor conviction expanded across the cleantech ecosystem in Q3, why did capital remain tightly locked within a handful of EV players? Let’s find out…

India’s steel industry still runs largely on coal, while millions of tonnes of agricultural waste goes waste every year. Climitra is connecting these two problems by converting waste biomass into industrial-grade biochar, offering industries a route to carbon removal.

Turning Waste Into Fuel: Founded in 2025, Climitra is building a vertically-integrated startup to convert biomass into bio-coal. It uses AI and geospatial intelligence to map and assess biomass availability, and then converts locally-sourced waste into fuel through a proprietary pyrolysis process.

A Coal Substitute: Climitra’s bio-coal is designed as a 1:1 replacement for fossil coal in steel-making, reducing the need for costly furnace retrofits. The startup claims that its output contains 75-85% fixed carbon, has a gross calorific value of 6,500–8,000 kcal/kg and can cut emissions by up to 90% compared with fossil coal.

Beyond Bio-Fuel: Climitra’s business model extends beyond bio-fuel. The startup is targeting both industrial decarbonisation and carbon removal, using its existing biomass supply chain. The startup claims it has already validated its bio-coal with Tata Steel, JSW Steel and AM/NS India.

Backed by InfoEdge Ventures, the startup is eyeing a piece of the Indian biomass briquette market, which is projected to become a $2.1 Bn opportunity by 2032. So, can Climitra turn agricultural waste into a lower-carbon fuel for its steel industry?

From Wysa to Amaha, a new crop of Indian startups are breaking the silence and building access to mental health support. Here are the founders and the funding behind this shift…