30 Investors, Founders and Policymakers join DeepVerse, Startup Policy Forum's Centre for DeepTech Innovation

• Startup Policy Forum (SPF) launches DeepVerse, its Centre for DeepTech Innovation, a multi-stakeholder platform to accelerate India's deeptech ecosystem
• The platform features an 18-member high-powered Advisory Board comprising investors, founders, global technology firms, policymakers, government, and academia
• Ten leading VC firms come together on the platform to promote India's deeptech ecosystem including Accel India, Lightspeed, Bessemer Venture Partners, Speciale Invest, Endiya Partners, Crane Ventures, Avaana Capital, Iron Pillar, Stride Asset Management and Beenext.
• The Centre will focus on ten deeptech sub-sectors, including semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, spacetech, quantum tech, defence tech, biotech & healthtech, cleantech & energy, drones & aerospace, electric vehicles, robotics.
• DeepVerse builds on #100DesiDeepTechs, SPF's national initiative with MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), Startup India (DPIIT) and IIT Madras, which identified a cohort of India's 100 leading deeptech startups in May 2026.
• DeepVerse will soon launch its extensive report to highlight policy actionables across the ten sectors

NEW DELHI, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Startup Policy Forum (SPF) today launched DeepVerse, its Centre for DeepTech Innovation. DeepVerse is a platform dedicated to bringing together startups, investors, government stakeholders, global technology companies and academia. It will accelerate India's deeptech ecosystem through ecosystem collaboration, policy dialogue and research.

Advisory Board

DeepVerse is guided by an Advisory Board of leading investors, founders, policymakers, academics and global technology leaders, who will shape the Centre's priorities and direction.

Advisory Board Members

Investors

• Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel India
• Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner, Avaana Capital
• Pankaj Mitra, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
• Anandamoy Roychowdhary,Managing Director, Crane Ventures
• Sateesh Andra, Managing Director, Endiya Partners
• Anand Prasanna, Managing Partner, Iron Pillar
• Hemant Mohapatra, Partner, Lightspeed
• Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest
• Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Stride Asset Management

Founders

• Naman Pushp, Founder & CEO, Airbound
• Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy
• Pawan Chandana, Co-Founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace
• Anirudh Sharma, Founder& CEO, Digantara

Policy, Academia and Global Technology

• Dr. Panneerselvam Madanagopal, CEO, MeitY Startup Hub
• Dr. B. Chagun Basha, Chief Policy Adviser, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
• Shweta Rajpal Kohli, President & CEO, Startup Policy Forum
• Dr. D. Premachandra Sagar, Pro-Chancellor, Dayananda Sagar University
• Aditi Nanda, Director of Ecosystem and Industry, Intel India

The Centre's work spans ten focus sub-sectors: Biotech, Quantum Tech, Semiconductors, Drones, Spacetech, Defence Tech, Electric Vehicles (EV), Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics and Cleantech & Energy.

"Congratulations to Startup Policy Forum on the launch of DeepVerse, Centre for DeepTech Innovation. A strong, multi-stakeholder approach is key to growing India's deeptech ecosystem. Great to see DeepVerse bringing together founders, investors, academia and government to take India's deeptech ambitions forward," said S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.

"India has the founders and, increasingly, the capital for world-class deeptech. Policy has to catch up. When companies take a decade to build, founders and investors need rules they can plan around, and a say in making them. DeepVerse institutionalises that voice," said Shweta Rajpal Kohli, President & CEO, Startup Policy Forum.

Members

DeepVerse brings together members across three tiers, Deep Core, Deep Circle and Patrons, who will contribute industry insight to its policy consultations and help drive its ecosystem initiatives

• Deep Core: Accel, Airbound, Ather Energy, Avaana Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Cars24, Crane Ventures, Dayananda Sagar University, Digantara, Endiya Partners, Intel, Iron Pillar, Lightspeed, Speciale Invest, and Stride Asset Management 
• Deep Circle: Alteon, Aspera, Beenext, Gabit, General Autonomy, Meta, Newtrace, Pronto, River and Yulu
• Patrons: CarDekho Group, Global Education Lab, Sarvam, Scaler and SQ1

Built on #100DesiDeepTechs

DeepVerse takes forward the work of #100DesiDeepTechs, SPF's nation-building initiative to give India's deeptech founders a voice in policymaking. The initiative was developed with MeitY Startup Hub, Startup India (DPIIT) and IIT Madras. It was announced in July 2025 and formally launched at TiECON Delhi in October 2025.

Over the course of 8 months, SPF hosted several Deeptech Baatcheet sessions in innovation hubs including Delhi and Bengaluru. At these sessions, Advisory Board members chaired in-depth dialogues with founders on regulation, access to capital, talent and global expansion. DeepVerse gives this work a permanent home, and gives this growing cohort of Deeptech Startups a sustained voice in shaping India's deeptech policy.

About Startup Policy Forum

Startup Policy Forum (SPF) is an independent, not-for-profit industry alliance representing 75+ of India's leading new-age tech companies, with a combined valuation of over USD 100 billion. Its members span fintech, deeptech, consumer tech, healthtech, edtech and emerging technologies, and include Groww, Zerodha, Razorpay, Pine Labs, Sarvam, Emergent, CRED, Meesho, Invideo, Digantara, Airbound, Snabbit, Pronto, Cars24 and many others. SPF works across four pillars: policy advocacy, global visibility, community building and thought leadership.

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