NVIDIA, Qualcomm join U.S., Indian VCs to help build India’s next deep tech startups (techcrunch.com)

A coalition of U.S. and Indian investors — the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) led by Celesta Capital and including Accel, Chiratae, Kalaari, Qualcomm Ventures and several others — has expanded with NVIDIA joining as a strategic technical advisor and Qualcomm Ventures adding capital and network support. Launched in September with over $1B in collective commitments and bolstered by Qualcomm’s participation (part of an additional >$850M of commitments), the alliance aims to mentor, co-invest and connect Indian deep-tech startups over the next 5–10 years. NVIDIA will not invest financially but will provide technical guidance on accelerated computing and AI stack integration (training via the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute, scalable compute access, and policy input); Qualcomm will deploy capital plus partner and portfolio-network access. This matters because the move aligns with India’s new ₹1 trillion (~$12B) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme and targets sectors that need patient capital — semiconductors, quantum, robotics, space, biotech, energy transition and AI. India already hosts 180k+ startups and 120+ unicorns, but deep-tech funding remains nascent (deep-tech funding grew 78% to $1.6B in 2024). The IDTA could accelerate infrastructure-scale ventures by combining domain expertise, compute platforms and government policy engagement, though it’s a “loose coalition” rather than a formal fund — commitments and deal allocations remain decentralized and outcomes are not guaranteed.