Climate Tech Venture Studio NOW launches in India with $2M fund

Climate Tech Venture Studio NOW has launched in India with a $2 million dedicated fund to invest in early-stage Indian deeptech startups focusing on sustainability and climate technology. 

As the country's first venture studio of its kind, NOW aims to co-build three to four startups in the next 12-18 months. It offers a unique blend of financial investment, mentorship, and strategic support to help navigate the commercialization journey of innovative solutions in the climate tech sector.

The Venture Studio Model

Venture studios represent a novel approach in the startup ecosystem, differentiating themselves from traditional accelerators and incubators by engaging with founders from the ideation phase through to fundraising and scaling.

NOW's venture studio model emphasizes a hands-on co-building experience, providing startups with $250K to $500K each in funding, alongside guidance on achieving product-market fit, access to market opportunities, and validation of prototypes through corporate partnerships. 

Notably, This model is gaining traction in India, offering a lifeline to entrepreneurs in a challenging funding landscape.

Strategic focus areas

NOW has outlined its initial focus on key sectors critical to reducing the global carbon footprint and enhancing environmental resilience. These sectors include industrial and supply chain decarbonization, energy, electric vehicles (EV) and mobility, agriculture and food, the circular economy, and low-carbon materials.

By targeting these areas, NOW aims to build category leaders in sustainability and climate tech, leveraging deep tech and deep science-led innovations.

Leadership and vision

Founded by Gayathri Kuppendra Reddy, a seasoned entrepreneur, trained climate leader, and active angel investor, NOW is driven by a vision to address the urgent environmental challenges facing our planet.

The venture studio is led by a core team with over 40 years of combined experience in startup scaling, climate entrepreneurship, innovation, SaaS, and venture capital. "NOW’s vision is to build category leaders in sustainability and climate tech by leveraging deeptech and deep science-led innovations," said Reddy, emphasizing the search for bold and audacious entrepreneurs committed to making a significant impact in sustainability and climate sectors.

NOW is inviting early-stage deeptech startups to apply for their program, with the application period closing on March 31st, 2024.