Startup Policy Forum's new centre will bring founders, investors, officials, global firms and academics together to shape policy and research for sectors such as space, defence, semiconductors and quantum, guided by an industry-led advisory board.
Startup Policy Forum (SPF) has launched DeepVerse, a centre designed to speed up the growth of India's deep-technology sector. It will connect startups, investors, government representatives, global technology companies and universities through collaboration, policy dialogue and research. SPF is an industry alliance of more than 75 new-age technology companies with a combined valuation above $100 billion.
The centre's work will cover 10 focus subsectors, among them spacetech, defence tech, electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing and robotics, cleantech and energy, biotech, quantum technology, semiconductors and drones.
S. Krishnan, Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, welcomed the launch. He said a multi-stakeholder approach is essential to growing the ecosystem and that DeepVerse brings the key groups together.
SPF President and CEO Shweta Rajpal Kohli said India already has the founders and, increasingly, the capital to build world-class deep-tech companies, but policy needs to catch up. Because such ventures can take a decade to build, she said, founders and investors need predictable rules and a role in shaping them. In her view, DeepVerse gives that role a permanent institutional form.
Advisory board draws on investors, founders and policymakers
An advisory board will help set the centre's priorities and direction. Its investor members include Prashanth Prakash of Accel India, Anjali Bansal of Avaana Capital, Pankaj Mitra of Bessemer Venture Partners, Anandamoy Roychowdhary of Crane Ventures and Sateesh Andra of Endiya Partners. They are joined by Anand Prasanna of Iron Pillar, Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed, Vishesh Rajaram of Speciale Invest and Ishpreet Singh Gandhi of Stride Asset Management.
Four founders sit on the board: Naman Pushp of Airbound, Tarun Mehta of Ather Energy, Pawan Chandana of Skyroot Aerospace and Anirudh Sharma of Digantara.
The policy, academic and industry representatives are Dr Panneerselvam Madanagopal, CEO of MeitY Startup Hub, and Dr B. Chagun Basha, chief policy adviser in the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. Kohli also serves on the board, alongside Dr D. Premachandra Sagar, pro-chancellor of Dayananda Sagar University, and Aditi Nanda, director of ecosystem and industry at Intel India.
Three membership tiers, built on 2025 initiative
Members will join through three tiers called Deep Core, Deep Circle and Patrons, and will contribute industry insights to policy consultations and ecosystem initiatives.
DeepVerse builds on SPF's #100DesiDeepTechs initiative, launched in 2025 with MeitY Startup Hub, Startup India (DPIIT) and IIT Madras. Over eight months, SPF held Deeptech Baatcheet sessions in Delhi and Bengaluru on regulation, capital, talent and global expansion. DeepVerse is meant to give those startups a lasting platform for policy engagement.
