A coalition of venture capital and private equity firms from the U.S. and India officially launched the India Deep Tech Investment Alliance (IDTA) with a $1 billion commitment to back deep tech startups in India. Law firm Nishith Desai Associates served as the global strategic legal advisor and was pivotal in shaping and quickly launching the alliance within a week.

The announcement was made during Semicon India 2025 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Founder members of the alliance include Celesta Capital, Accel, Blume Ventures, Gaja Capital, Ideaspring Capital, Premji Invest, Tenacity Ventures, and Venture Catalysts. The alliance’s core mission is to mobilize private capital and expertise to strengthen U.S.-India collaboration in strategic deep tech sectors that will drive innovation and technology sovereignty.

The IDTA focuses on several priority sectors that constitute India’s “strategic sunrise sectors,” emphasizing foundational technologies rich in intellectual property. These include semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, robotics, digital biology and biotechnology, space technology, defense technologies, energy, and climate tech. The alliance aims to deploy patient capital primarily in early-stage startups from seed to Series B, supporting technologies with long development cycles and high commercialization barriers.

NDA’s role involved conceptualizing the alliance’s strategic framework, convening the leading venture and private equity firms, and providing legal and operational guidance to ensure a solid foundation for the IDTA. The alliance also aligns closely with the Government of India’s ₹1 lakh crore ($12 billion) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme, which incentivizes local incorporation and innovation in deep tech.

Beyond capital infusion, IDTA members will provide mentorship, technical diligence support, network access, and pathways for startups to access global supply chains and markets. The alliance, chaired by Arun Kumar, former CEO of KPMG India and managing partner at Celesta Capital, signals a new era of coordinated venture investing in India’s deep tech ecosystem. The collaborative approach seeks to bridge longstanding funding gaps in India’s deep tech space, enabling startups to scale innovations that address critical national and global challenges.

NDA’s team comprised Nishith Desai, Vaibhav Parikh, Nishchal Joshipura, Parul Jain, Suril Desai, Radhika Parikh, Shiv Singhal, Kamini Toprani and Akash Shirore.