AUM Ventures launches ₹750 cr India Innovation Fund II to back deep‑tech startups

AUM Ventures has launched its ₹750 Cr India Innovation Fund II, targeting early-stage startups in sectors like spacetech, semiconductors, AI, and defence tech

The fund will back 25-30 companies, aiming to write cheques of around $750,000 to $2 Mn for startups at pre-seed and seed stage, with provisions for follow-on funding

This comes soon after AUM Ventures’ portfolio company Skyroot Aerospace became India’s first spacetech unicorn, valued at $1.1 Bn

With the Cat II AIF investment vehicle, AUM would be looking to place bets on 25-30 startups operating in deeptech sectors like spacetech, semiconductors, AI, and defence tech.

Initial investments will range from $750K to $2 Mn, with provisions for follow-on funding through Series A and B rounds.

Notably, AUM Ventures has tasked general partner Nisha Shah to helm the fund’s investments. Prior to joining the firm last year, Shah served as the COO of Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office for close to three years.

Founded in 2022, AUM Ventures has deployed around $30 Mn across 24 companies since its inception. Its portfolio includes Skyroot Aerospace, which recently became India’s first spacetech unicorn, as well as companies like Azimuth AI and Sanyark Space. Another portfolio company, Sharang Shakti, was recently acquired by LAT Aerospace, a new venture by Eternal cofounder Deepinder Goyal.

With this announcement, AUM joins the growing ranks of VC firms lining up to back innovation in Indian deeptech over the past few months. Earlier, Fundamentum Partnership cofounder Ashish Kumar launched Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A), a stage-agnostic fund aimed at backing startups building in consumer, enterprise and physical AI.

Prior to that, Piper Serica launched its Bharat Tech Fund, while Shastra VC launched a $100 Mn fund to back early-stage startups.

Policy support has been a major driver of the rising investor appetite for Indian deeptech. In recent times, the central government has been actively promoting R&D and self-reliance in advanced technology.

For instance, the Centre extended Startup India benefits for deeptech startups to 20 years and increased the turnover eligibility threshold for several schemes and incentives to ₹300 Cr from ₹200 Cr.

The last two Union Budgets also included support for the sector through the ₹1 Lakh Cr RDI scheme and the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0.

Amid the push to promote deeptech, startups in this segment secured around $500 Mn across 87 deals in 2025, making it the third most-funded sector last year. The strong momentum has continued into Q1 2026 where the sector attracted $166 Mn of capital.