Unicorn India Ventures closes Rs 1,200 crore fund to invest in deeptech, semiconductors and AI infra

Deeptech-focused venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures has closed its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore, exceeding its initial target of Rs 1,000 crore.

The fund will focus on semiconductors, spacetech and AI infrastructure, areas the firm says are benefiting from long-term structural shifts rather than short-term market cycles.

The fund plans to back around 20 startups, with an average cheque size of Rs 10-15 crore. It has already seen early traction, with seven to eight portfolio companies raising substantial follow-on rounds. Unicorn expects to announce four new investments in the coming months across quantum sensing, agritech and spacetech.

A notable shift in Fund III is the composition of its investor base. About 33% of the capital has come from international limited partners, largely from the US, many of whom are investing in the Indian startup ecosystem for the first time. Domestic backers include HNIs, UHNIs, family offices and institutions such as SIDBI, SBI, Nabard, and the state governments of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

Bhaskar Majumdar, founder and managing partner of Unicorn India Ventures, said early-stage cheque sizes in deeptech are increasing as the ecosystem matures. He pointed to the rise of repeat founders with strong track records and growing investor confidence in founder capability alongside the underlying technology. He also highlighted a trend of academicians turning founders, with four to five companies in Fund III led by academics, including one teaching academic, bringing what he described as greater technology rigour.

Unicorn is deliberately staying away from AI application-layer SaaS, citing uncertainty around long-term winners, and is instead focusing on AI infrastructure such as semiconductors, data centres, power systems and enabling technologies. It is also exploring nuclear micro power generation as a potential enabler for AI infrastructure.