BYT Capital, an India-focused deep-tech venture capital firm founded by Amit Chand, Dinesh Kumar and partners with experience across research-led innovation and early-stage investing, has announced the launch of its maiden ₹180 crore Category II alternative investment fund (AIF). The fund will back founders building at the frontier of scientific and engineering innovation.
Who are the founders, and when is the fund expected to reach final close?
Chand brings over two decades of leadership experience across corporate strategy, entrepreneurship and early-stage investing. Kumar has a decade of expertise backing emerging ventures as co-founder of FAAD Capital. With strong early investor participation and more than half the corpus already subscribed, the fund is expected to reach its final close by Q3 2026.
Why does BYT Capital see deep-tech as a strategic opportunity for India?
“India is entering a phase where scientific entrepreneurship can deliver venture-scale outcomes,” said Amit Chand, founder of BYT Capital. “DeepTech is the new infrastructure layer—an unseen but essential foundation for the next era of industrial and economic growth. It enables strategic independence, propels high-value manufacturing, and strengthens India’s position in global frontier innovation.”
What is the broader context for deep-tech funding in India in 2025?
India’s deep-tech startup ecosystem secured over $600 million in funding in 2025, propelled by developments in artificial intelligence, clean energy and space technology. BYT Capital’s launch adds to the expanding pool of patient, technical capital supporting frontier R&D enterprises in the country.
How will the fund deploy capital, and what sectors will it focus on?
The fund is backed by India-aligned high net worth individuals (HNIs) and family offices who see deep-tech as a long-horizon, high-impact asset class. It will deploy capital across 18–20 deep-tech startups, with ₹3–6 crore initial cheques and 55 per cent of the corpus reserved for follow-on rounds.
In its first year, the fund has already committed investments across sectors, including space technology, life sciences, robotics and clean energy, reflecting high-value IP emerging from Indian engineering and research ecosystems.
What kind of startups is BYT Capital targeting?
The fund will focus on startups translating lab-stage discoveries into scalable products with global market pull. BYT Capital said it will partner early with scientific founders building in areas such as space, life sciences, energy and frontier AI, which typically require patient capital, technical diligence and hands-on incubation.
