How does Aeravti Ventures evaluate the potential for DeepTech startups to transition from prototype to commercialisation?
Moving from prototype to commercialisation is one of the most important success metrics for any DeepTech startup. Commercialisation is what separates a project from a business, and assessing a company’s ability to commercialise its technology within practical timelines is a key consideration for us at Aeravti.
We begin by trying to understand both the practical application of the technology and its commercial viability or acceptance, engaging with relevant industry players to get very practical and industry-specific feedback. Beyond that, we place strong emphasis on diving deep into the science behind the technology, the founder’s vision, and their ability to execute on both the technology and business fronts.
What unique challenges and opportunities does Aeravti Ventures identify in the AgriTech sector, and how does it tailor its investment approach accordingly?
AgriTech is the misunderstood teenager in the world of booming startups, a sector that has often borne the brunt of misalignment at the hands of investors, which is why we have so few success stories despite over a decade of AgriTech funding. The industry employs a significant portion of the population and is culturally one of the most diverse, with stakeholder sentiment changing every 100 km. This presents very specific challenges in understanding the working style, priorities, and potential of each of these mini-regions across the country, a key hurdle for any startup aiming to capture them.
What this also creates is a challenge in achieving rapid scalability, something investors are accustomed to seeing with tech-heavy startups.
For us at Aeravti, it is very important to understand these nuances, which vary from region to region and business case to business case. We are deeply respectful of the on-ground realities and are at the source location to identify and understand these nuances first hand. This helps us get a more grounded understanding of the target market, allows us to identify relevant solutions, and brings in a much-needed level of patience in both evaluation and scaling of companies in this sector.
How does Aeravti Ventures assist technical founders in developing essential business and leadership skills?
It’s important to understand that building a successful business requires diverse skill sets, which sometimes can’t be found in a single individual. Since we spend a lot of time with our portfolio companies, our efforts focus on identifying and bridging gaps within the organisation across various fronts, including balancing the tech and business sides at the top management level.
Whether it’s identifying key hires or making internal movements, we work closely with founders to ensure the company’s core team is strong enough to build and sustain a long-term culture. In addition, we often bring in best practices from other businesses, portfolio companies, and experienced leaders to support our founders in their journey.
How is AI reshaping the landscape of DeepTech investments, and what specific AI-driven verticals is Aeravti Ventures focusing on?
We’re in the midst of an actively evolving landscape driven by the growth of AI, with organisations across the globe building unique use cases every day. We’re especially excited about how AI is being used to accelerate the R&D phase of companies by running computational models that can save months of human processing time and effort. This is set to bring a significant shift in the development cycles and cost structures of DeepTech startups.
We are excited to see how AI applications can enhance business operations and scalability across sectors, and how they can support critical areas such as drug discovery, therapeutics, Advanced Manufacturing, etc. At Aeravti, our focus is more on businesses that can leverage AI to enhance their core operations, rather than on standalone AI applications.
How does Aeravti Ventures balance the inherent risks associated with long R&D cycles in DeepTech investments?
We are very slow investors and have been grateful to all the founders who have stuck with us through this process. Taking our time allows us to mitigate risks using one of the most effective litmus tests of all—time.
Through our extended conversations with founders, we are able to deeply explore not just their goals and vision, but also their management style and overall approach. Alongside this, we conduct thorough diligence on the science, commercial viability, business scalability, and geographical fit, often in collaboration with business leaders and industry/technology experts. This helps us build a strong understanding of the technology and reduce the risks of investing in early-product companies.
Can you share Aeravti Ventures’s long-term vision for its impact on the DeepTech landscape and its plan to adapt its investment strategies in response to evolving global trends in DeepTech and innovation?
We consider ourselves fortunate to be in this position at such a pivotal time in history, a time when the entire country is turning its focus toward innovation. Whether it’s an aspiring founder in a remote village or progressive government regulations and support, this is arguably one of the best times to be an early-stage DeepTech investor in India. I believe this momentum will continue for the next few years, until we see the next wave of investment strategies emerge.
Our way of staying ahead in this dynamic investment landscape is by keeping our eyes and ears open and by giving the benefit of the doubt to every dreamer out there. The truth is, we don’t know where the next great innovation will come from, because every individual’s life journey is uniquely shaped by their environment and experiences. We value those who think differently and have the courage to step out and build. The least we can do is offer them access to the right ecosystem and help them shape their business or technology, regardless of whether we invest in them or not. That’s the approach we take when speaking with founders who have the potential to disrupt their industries.
As for evolving our investment strategy, we see it as a constant learning process, something all of us in the investor community are navigating together. As more innovation continues to emerge across the country, our horizon keeps expanding alongside it.
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